The Fellowship of Zero
by AlekatKalex
Summary: Lelouch and his friends are sent back in time to right their wrongs, but this time, Lelouch knows he can't work alone. Zero has to be better. Time travel, mild All x Lelouch. *WARNING: CONTAINS HAPPINESS AND LACK OF MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH*
1. Chapter 1: A Series of Dreams

**Chapter 1: A Series of Dreams**

**A/N: Hi everyone, this is Kalex, the person who writes the stories. Sorry about the author's note, I know no one cares. You can just skip this if you want. I just wanted to thank you for reading our fan fiction. My brother and I have been working on the storyline for a while and we have a few chapters written, but this is our first time publishing works like this. The first thing I'd like to do if warn you that this fan fiction will be rather bipolar, and I apologize for that. This is the first fan fiction I've ever written and it's the first my brother has ever planned.**

**This will also be a romance, although that's not the main focus. It's AllLulu, including guys (we want to spread the love)! If you're uncomfortable about reading romance, it's not the only thing going on, so you can probably skip it with you want. Same if there's a couple that you don't like. We're hoping to keep that fairly equal.**

**We'll probably try to post a poll or something so you can vote on which couple(s) you want to see the most of if you're interested. There probably won't be an endgame couple, and we'll try to include any that get even a single vote. However, more popular pairings will get more story time.**

**Anyway, here's our first chapter. I apologize for the long note!**

**DISCLAIMER: To the surprise of everyone, my brother and I, the lowly fan fiction writers that we are, do not, in fact, own a hit anime series, and none of the characters belong to us. If we did, we would not be here. We would be making a season 3 diddly darn it. And it would involve Lelouch galavanting across the galaxy with laser beams and his trusty dinosaur steed. It is also safe to note that if we owned Code Geass, it would, in fact, not be like Code Geass at all. It would also be titled "The Story of how Lelouch Took Over the World and Definitely Wasn't Evil or Anything and Everyone Loved Him" part 1 of 27.**

**EDIT 6/16/19: Hey everyone! It's been an incredibly long wait, hasn't it? Ha... Ha... *dodges knives* We decided to go back and re-write all of our old chapters because we realized they were a total mess, so we'll be trying to repost them all today. We also found out that none of the page breaks appeared, making out mess even more confusing... I just want to apologize for the incredibly long wait - it's been over a year, and we're really, really sorry. I hope that the new chapters are a bit better! Also, don't worry, the story hasn't changed at all, so you totally don't have to re-read them! Luckily, now it's summer, so we should have more time to post chapters. Thank you all so much for your patience, and we hope you enjoy! Also, we'll be leaving the old author's notes as they were for the sake of history, in all of their probably cringe-worthy glory.**

As Lelouch felt the cold embrace of death, he knew it was over.

The fighting was over.

The pain was over.

The misunderstandings were over.

The sight of his friends (or perhaps enemies) staring at him with disgust was over.

The disappointed and harsh looks sent his way when they thought he wasn't looking were over.

The feeling of anguish and guilt that greeted him every morning, day after day, was finally over.

Maybe he should be relieved. Maybe he should be happy. But as the world dissolved around his bleeding and broken body, as the cries of surprise and fear faded from his ears, when the pain and suffering and heaviness of everything he went through was lifted from his slumped shoulders, he could only think one thing.

As Lelouch felt the cold embrace of death, he knew he had failed.

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The collective subconscious watched as the emperor fell, his bleeding body hitting the ground as a hollowed husk of who he had been. They sighed. This wasn't right. This wasn't how is was supposed to end. None of this was what they had hoped would happen. There was so much regret, so much pain. They felt all of it, and it made their heart ache.

The thoughts rushed through them. All of the wishes, all of the farewells. Something that was done wrong at every turn.

One wished that she hadn't let her Contractor die, but she knew now it was too late.

One wished he could have protected and kept close those most dear to him, but he had failed.

One wished he had learned to love, and realized that he had the chance but squandered it.

One wished she hadn't let her friends die, but she had, and they were gone.

One wished he hadn't betrayed those who needed his trust, but he had made that choice and paid the price.

One wished he could have just kept Lelouch alive and safe like he promised he would, but here he was, watching him die right.

And one, the most potent, the most intense, was that of the one who wished that he hadn't failed. Not himself, not the world, and most of all, not his friends.

The collective subconscious acknowledged that they owed Lelouch. They owed him the satisfaction of finally getting what he wanted most, what he wished for so feverishly in his last moments. And they supposed that, through owing _Lelouch_, they owed those closest to Lelouch as well. They owed them _all_ something.

So they would give them what they wished for as they watched their emperor die before their eyes.

And then they would watch. And wait.

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Lelouch opened his eyes.

Now, that can't be right.

Carefully, he sat up. He was...in his bed? Furiously, he rubbed his eyes. His thoughts were muddled. Why was he _in his bed_? Didn't he just...?

Crawling out of bed, he surveyed his surroundings. He was in his room. The clock read 7:27 a.m.. Most people would see this as a normal occurrence; to wake up in one's own house, in one's own room, in one's own bed, in one's own pajamas at the appropriate time.

But for someone who's dead, it's a bit surprising to say the least.

_Well, this is a tad awkward, _Lelouch thought.

Lelouch tiptoed down the stairs, surprisingly wary for someone who just purposely ended their own life. He checked around every corner, examining the house like a starving man might examine a steak. After staring around him with a look quite resembling a dead fish, he concluded this was indeed, yes, his house, and pre-nuke to boot. It was quite remarkable, really. A numb part of his mind vaguely noted that a bit of home renovation could do wonders to a desolate black crater.

He impersonated roadkill for a good thirty minutes as he wandered through his house in a daze, running his hands over mundane appliances with manic intensity (oh toaster, how I've missed you). Finally, Lelouch reached the front door. He looked out onto the gardens in awe. They were as magnificent and not-exploded as ever, lined with impressively looming hedges and bright flowers being dutifully tended to by workers. Did he mention is wasn't blown up?! _What was going on here?!_

Suddenly overwhelmed with urgency, he sprinted across his front yard, leaving his gardeners to wonder why their young master was racing around in his bunny slippers and pink-polka-dotted onesie.

After about 10 meters of sprinting and several hundred of exhausted limping, he finally reached the nearest newspaper stand.

In a trance, he ripped the nearest one off the racks, ignoring the terrified stares he was receiving from the boy manning the booth. As the young man cowered in fear, Lelouch frantically scanned the paper until his eyes reached the date.

His heart skipped a beat. No. No No NO! The world tilted on its axis, causing him to stumble past the boy who was currently calling the police. Impossible. _Impossible_! How could this be happening?! He was in the past?!

Suddenly he started giggling. It was impossible. It must be a joke! Yes, a joke, of course! Cackling maniacally, he ripped the paper to shreds. It was an illusion. Just a figment of his imagination. It had to be! There was no other explanation for this... _Event_.

There was no way. No way in hell.

It was the day before the poison gas incident.

Lelouch fainted.

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**Republished 6/16/19**


	2. Chapter 2: Realization

**Chapter 2: Realization**

**A/N: Here's chapter 2! Hope you enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: We do not own Code Geass or its characters in any way, shape, or form! If we did, Lelouch would take over the world in a day and there would be a law that everyone in the world has to attend Ashford Academy. I mean we're already pretty much there...**

The moment Kallen saw the date, she immediately had an intense urge to burn something.

She had awoken in her stepmother's house and had been, understandably, extremely confused. After all, the last thing she remembered was Lelouch... Lelouch... she shuddered.

She stumbled out the front door in a dazed stupor, wearing the first clothes she found (her tutu from her ballet concert three months ago was an interesting choice). She stared around her in stupification as a world she once knew reappeared before her eyes. She felt numb. Why did this happen? HOW did this happen? What could she do about it?

Eventually, she came to the conclusion that burning down Lelouch's house was absolutely the best solution.

A few minutes later and she was attempting to set the mansion on fire with nothing more than a few soggy matches and some torn up newspaper that was stolen from a terrified paperboy.

Before she could complete her master plan, however, Ohgi sprinted up to Kallen and tackled her into a rib-crushing hug.

"KALLEN!" He shouted joyfully. "WE'RE BACK! WE'RE BACK!"

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Meanwhile, Suzaku was crying. This continued for a good three hours. Anyone who walked into his room quickly exited and pretended they didn't just witness their fellow soldier rocking back and mumbling odd phrases and occasionally maniacally giggling, tears streaming down his face all the while.

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C.C. woke up, and after saying 'huh', went right back to sleep.

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"How did you know I came back in time?" Kallen asked, poking the pile of newspapers into place with a stick.

Ohgi shrugged. "I saw you running around downtown, so I kind of figured we were in the same boat. I tried to follow you, but you run really fast."

"Oh." Kallen said like this was a completely normal occurrence. She absently struck a match, deep in thought. "Wait, how did you know I was going to be here?"

Ohgi rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I just followed the trail of terrified newspaper boys and worked from there."

"Fair enough." Kallen mused, dropping another match onto the pile of newspapers that failed to ignite (probably since they were soaked by said newspaper boys' tears).

After an uncomfortable silence that was only filled by the sound of matches being struck and dropped, Ohgi finally spoke.

"So, what do we do now?"

It was complicated, way too complicated. Kallen sighed. "I honestly don't know. Lelouch is..."

The air seemed to ring with the possibilities. Crazy, misunderstood... Dead. Kallen scowled.

Ohgi's hands clenched into fists, his expression twisting. "Why did he have to lie to us?! Why couldn't he have just... Just..." He trailed off, not quite sure what he wanted to say.

"He didn't trust us because we couldn't be trusted." Kallen murmured. They both fell silent. They betrayed him, and now he was dead. Or... He used to be dead. Right now, he was still somewhere, very likely in his house which they were trying to burn down, alive and (mostly) well.

They could save him. They could save everyone. Kallen grit her teeth. It was their responsibility now. Not something she wanted to think about after how it went last time.

"Who else do we think came back?" Ohgi asked. Kallen was extremely thankful for the change of subject.

"Until we know why we came back, I don't think we're gonna find out."

Ohgi rubbed his forehead. "This shouldn't be possible..." He griped. It was all so confusing. Why did this happen to them? He wasn't quite sure if it was good or bad.

"Our friends are alive." Kallen said, almost to herself. "That's enough for me. That's all we need to know."

Ohgi nodded, smiling grimly. "If it's the day I think it is... Then we have work to do."

One wished she hadn't let her friends die, but she had, and they were gone.

One wished he hadn't betrayed those who needed his trust, but he had made that choice and paid the price.

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After crying pathetically for a few hours, Suzaku realized that he had a few decisions to make.

What did he do about Lelouch?

He could just kill him. At that, his heart clenched a little. No, he sighed. He couldn't. Even after all the terrible things Lelouch did, Suzaku realized he had gone along with it. If he was being poetic, Lelouch was the cursed Shepherd and he was the damned sheep that followed him. That made him just as bad. Besides, hadn't he been originally trying to help a government that was horribly oppressing the people, his people? If what Lelouch did was terrible, what about what Suzaku did?

(Plus, he was pretty sure if an eleven soldier suddenly went ballistic and shanked a Britannian student, he wouldn't be exactly accepted with open arms into the student council. How fun to explain would that be? 'He's going to become a terrorist, I swear!')

He could capture him, but on what grounds? He could prove Lelouch was Zero, but was Lelouch actually going to become Zero this time around? Of course, his mind assured him. He has to.

Why did that make him feel relieved?

Lastly, he could join him. It felt almost too late to have any second thoughts. He had sold his soul once already. There wasn't any buying it back. And he was also pretty sure there was a no-refunds policy on souls.

Besides, if he repented, maybe he could finally forgive himself. Maybe he could get over Euphie's death at last.

Then it hit him.

Euphie wasn't dead.

Something in his heart swelled. It wasn't too late. He could save Euphie! He suddenly smiled brightly, the weight on his shoulders lifted. Maybe things could be better.

Maybe he could make things better.

Meanwhile, fully trained soldiers were skirting around his room like frightened children to avoid the manic-depressive mumbling psycho (with ninja skills) inside.

One wished he could have protected and kept close those most dear to him, but he had failed.

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After convincing the nurse that he had just been extremely excited about the local news (he assured her the dog fashion show was a very riveting story and he had just gotten emotionally worked up) and narrowly avoiding a one way field trip to the closest asylum, Lelouch was homeward bound.

Exiting the Emergency Room with confidence surprisingly high for a man in women's pajamas (shut up, they were the only kind that fit!), he began to gather his thoughts.

Judging by the ache in his head from the fall he had taken and the fact his legs still hurt from that intense ten-meter run, he concluded that this was not a wishful dream his mind had created in his final moments. And judging by the way people stared at him as if, well, he just waltzed out of the emergency room in a onesie after scaring the crap out of an innocent paperboy, he probably wasn't in Heaven either. He briskly started his walk home.

So he was back in time.

That raised quite a few questions.

First off, how would he get Suzaku on his side this time? Last time, the Lancelot had been a constant obstruction to his goals. He furrowed his brow. He supposed he could just Geass him instead of going through all that. That also raised the question on how to even get his Geass. He could do pretty much the same thing as last time in that regard, he mused. Many sacrifices would have to be made for him to secure power. He ignored the strange feeling of guilt in his chest.

He switched topics quickly. How could he prevent the uprising within the Black Knights that had happened last time? After turning it over in his mind for a bit, he only found one sure conclusion. He would Geass the Black Knights to follow his orders. He would have to remove certain pieces from the equation quickly and preserve the necessary ones.

His thoughts came to a halt as he spotted Shirley across the road.

Then it hit him. Everyone was still alive. Everyone was new and innocent and hopeful and woefully unprepared for what was coming. No one had died for (or from) him just yet.

It suddenly occurred him what he had been thinking. Geassing his oldest friend? Controlling his allies and most trusted by force? Killing off unuseful pieces to preserve the ones he needed? He held back a bitter laugh. He sounded like the Emperor.

In the end, that was why he failed, wasn't it? He had been so caught up in his ridiculous revenge plot that he hadn't even realized what he was doing. In trying to destroy evil, he became even worse than the evil he was fighting.

He skimmed around Shirley discreetly, not wanting to be seen like this by his classmate. Things had to change, but not only for victory. He wasn't just losing pieces. People were dying, even some of the people most precious to him. He knew that, sure, he always had, but did he really understand? Did he truly comprehend the gravity of what he was doing? He was only seventeen and he already had this little value for human life. Hell, he even gave up his own. He hadn't cared about it at the end. He hadn't for a long time. He couldn't let that happen. Not again.

He marched home, his mind set. He was going to need a few things; a voice changer and his Zero mask among them. That should be easy enough.

Zero would be different this time around, in more ways that one.

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"I still can't forgive him."

Ohgi couldn't help but nod at what Kallen said. She had finally gotten a successful match, and was now nursing a small fire.

"I agree." Ohgi sighed, throwing a few dry leaves onto the flames. "But... We can't do this without him, can we?"

Kallen nodded absentmindedly, blowing on the coals. "No, we can't."

They paused for a moment, stepping back and watching the fire grow a little, the flames lapping at the side of the house but not catching.

After a few minutes of contemplation Ohgi spoke again.

"I guess it's time to get the 'gas', isn't it?"

Kallen nodded in what seemed to be understanding.

"Gasoline would definitely help with the fire."

Ohgi sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Not that gas..."

One wished she hadn't let her friends die, but she had, and they were gone.

One wished he hadn't betrayed those who needed his trust, but he had made that choice and paid the price.

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After finishing his work, Lelouch smiled deviously, settling into bed in the pajamas he had never gotten out of.

Tomorrow was going to be a big day.

And one, the most potent, the most intense, was that of the one who wished that he hadn't failed. Not himself, not the world, and most of all, not his friends.

He wouldn't fail this time.

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Republished 6/19/16


	3. Chapter 3: Nostalgia

**Chapter 3: Nostalgia**

**A/N: Hey everyone! Wow, thank you guys so much for reading! Neither my brother nor I expected anyone to actually like it! We're going to attempt to write a new chapter every week, but we might not be able to. Once again, thanks so much for reading! And if you have a preference on who you'd like to see Lelouch paired with, make sure to vote!**

**DISCLAIMER: Neither my brother nor I own Code Geass or Candy Crush. And if you're wondering how those are related, we don't know either. If we did, in fact, own Code Geass, Lelouch would have gotten a Geass that allowed him to win instantly. And blow stuff up. Yeah, that'd be awesome. Oh and he would have known jujitsu.**

Lelouch forgot how much falling into a van full of very angry terrorists hurt.

You'd think after already going through the motions, he'd have been prepared for the jarring turns, sudden starts and stops, and angry Britannian military hell-bent on him ending up with fewer brain cells when this was over. Oh, and also dead. Lelouch decided to hang tight, and, for lack of other things to do, play Candy Crush (copyright), only moving to duck when Kallen walked past. She seemed different this time. Somehow... Anxious. Was it just his imagination? He supposed he wouldn't remember every single detail of the battle completely, so that was very possible. Still, Lelouch's brow furrowed.

He couldn't help but wonder as he hid. Was the battle going to go differently this time, even more so than he had planned? Had anyone else been sent back with him? If so, who? These questions spiraled through his head even as he matched and destroyed colorful sweet treats.

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Kallen climbed the ladder, wondering if the bings and and faint crunches were in fact the product of her rapidly dissipating mental stability or if Lelouch had somehow been in the van when they drove off. She decided that following history was most likely the best way to keep from questioning everything she thought she knew. Thus, instead of going to throttle the skeletal teen she assumed was hiding in the van, she instead continued with the original plan.

As Kallen climbed into her Knightmare to prepare for slaughter, a wave of nostalgia washed over her. She lovingly stroked the weapon of mass destruction like a long-lost pet before seating herself, grinning like the madwoman she may or may not have become.

Several seconds and a few military helicopters later, she found herself face-to-face with Jeremiah.

"I can't believe the audacity you have, going against our wonderful emperor!" He practically screeched with passion into his speaker. Resisting the urge to scream some sort of profanity through her own mic, Kallen instead prepared for the first fight of this new timeline, knowing it wouldn't be the last.

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"Yes!" Lelouch shouted as he beat his highscore. "Suck it you annoying pigtailed brat!"

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As Suzaku slogged through the filth that covered the floor of this collective-subconscious forsaken pit, he felt a wave of nostalgia. It was quickly quelled by the bile in his throat as he forgot the first rule he was taught during terrorist-hunting-in-an-abandoned-subway training (the best kind of training), accidentally looking down. Before he was able to add his lunch to the slime-encrusted ground, Suzaku was rudely interrupted by a van bearing two of the most dangerous people on the planet.

Some people just have no manners.

Before even being able to ready himself, a door on the side of the oh-so-inconspicuous van opened. As Suzaku noticed Lelouch, he decided to consider his options.

1\. Hyperventilate

2\. Beat Lelouch's head in with the nearest pizza box (and to be fair, if CC was in that container like last time, one couldn't be that far away)

3\. ?

4\. Tell a trusted adult

5\. Scream

6\. Ninja kick him in the face

7\. Look both ways before crossing the street

8\. Cry

9\. Stop drop and roll

10\. Tackle hug him

11\. Initiate small talk

After some serious consideration for option 1 and 8, he decided 11 was probably the safest route. If that failed, he could always jump straight to 2 anyways.

"Lelouch? Is that you?"

Said teen turned to face him, looking mildly relieved for only a second before his face went blank.

"Who are you?"

Ah. Right. The mask. Carefully, Suzaku took off his helmet and forced a smile.

"It's me. Suzaku."

Lelouch smiled pleasantly.

"Ah, Suzaku! Lovely weather we're having today."

Small talk must be a popular multiple choice answer.

"Indeed." Suzaku cleared his throat awkwardly. "So, how are your studies going?"

"Good, good. How's the family?"

"Good." Suzaku replied, images of his father in a pool of blood flashing before his eyes. "How's Nunnally?"

"Blind, as usual."

Dang. Maybe small talk wasn't their best skill.

Suddenly, the capsule opened with a loud click. Smoke poured out dramatically as CC was revealed, her face seeming to say: God, you guys are so awkward it might actually kill me. Men.

CC stepped out of the capsule, somehow completely calm despite being gagged and in a straight jacket. She shot Lelouch a smug look.

Welcome back Zero, she sent Lelouch. For a moment, Lelouch was surprised. Then, with her strange (and never fully described) powers, CC linked their minds, their memories flowing together. The connection was instantaneous, almost a year's worth of time together becoming clear to him. It took a short moment for it to dawn on him. He wasn't alone. She had been sent back with him. It took Lelouch only a second of shock to mirror her smirk. There was no time to think too hard about it, and he was completely fine with that.

You too, witch, he sent right back.

Suzaku, finding himself feeling left out despite no vocal interaction, cleared his throat and said, "So...what have you been up to?" right as Britannian troops spilled into the room.

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"-Private Kururugi! Apprehend the terrorist!"

Suzaku snapped out of his daze. He had completely zoned out, having already experienced his commanding officer's long winded and quite pretentious speech. He blinked.

"Sorry, could you repeat that last part?"

The officer sighed, pulled out a gun and shot Suzaku in the side.

Well, that could have gone better, Suzaku mused as he collapsed in agony and blacked out, giving Lelouch the finger on the way down.

Lelouch frowned. And our conversation had been going so well. But before the commander could even threaten to kill him, the terrorist van exploded.

Well, that was fast. Lelouch immediately grabbed CC and hit the deck, flattening them against the floor to avoid the huge blast. Lelouch covered his ears as quickly as possible. Debris flew over their heads, barely missing them.

I never knew you cared, CC thought to him.

Shut up, witch.

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As Ohgi cowered behind an upturned newspaper stand to avoid the barrage of Knightmare rounds, he felt a wave of nostalgia.

Currently, he was attempting to delay advancing in Britannian forces as he evacuated civilians. A small part of him was rather proud of his forethought; this time, casualties would be numbered in the dozens, not the hundreds. Another part of him was still bitter there had to be any, but he knew there was nothing to do about it. He had known that from the start.

The scouts the Britannians had sent out were well trained, but Ohgi had learned a thing or two from Zero's - Lelouch's - time guiding them. He crushed a feeling of guilt, distracting himself by directing a small family through the chaos.

There were so many things he needed to fix. So many mistakes that could be undone. This travel gave him so many chances that he should have taken before.

It was terrifying to think he could fail again, but the hope that came with it was more than worth it.

For now, they just had to hold out until Zero arrived - because he had to.

Right?

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Lelouch crawled under the third rusted pipe blocking his path, the idea of leaving Ohgi and his resistance group to the crows becoming more and more appealing by the second. He sighed dramatically, banishing the farfetched thought from his mind. He couldn't, really, and he honestly didn't want to at this point. He was too far in to just back out. Not to mention he didn't really want to die in the crossfire of a battlefield. Besides, if he was going to make this work, he would need people he could trust. Sure, they did betray him last time, but it wasn't like he hadn't given them plenty of reasons to.

Just one more thing I need to change this time around, Lelouch thought to himself. And speaking of changes…

"Hey, CC! Can I have my Geass now instead of after you get shot by those Britannian soldiers?"

"I was just waiting for you to ask."

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"So, are we having a bad day?"

Suzaku's eyes opened to see an overly excitable scientist grinning at him like a child getting a new toy at Christmas. The feeling of nostalgia was overwhelming. Or maybe that was the nausea. They were getting harder to tell apart recently.

Nostalgia or not, it wasn't nearly as overwhelming as the pain of getting shot. That interaction definitely could have gone better.

"Looks like you missed your chance to go to Heaven, Private Kururugi." The gleeful look on Lloyd's face gave Suzaku the familiar urge to break something.

"What's the latest on the situation?"

"It seems as though the poison has has been released." He said, looking like he was trying not to start cackling with glee. Suzaku might have wondered why, if it weren't for the fact he had experienced such weirdness (cough insanity cough) from the scientist already. Plus, he was still feeling a little bit on the 'just got shot' side.

As expected, Lloyd didn't beat around the brush.

"I want you, a random eleven off the street with no formal training, to pilot the most powerful Knightmare known to mankind. Health benefits are provided, of course."

"Yeah, sure, why not."

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"The West Entrance."

When that familiar voice broke through the static of her radio, Kallen could have cried with relief. She slumped slightly in her seat, her head hitting the cushion as she sighed. He was here.

Without even waiting for the rest of his overly theatrical spiel, Kallen gunned the engine. She shot that direction like lightning and raced along the tracks, well aware of the Knightmares following her. She felt strangely happy. He was back. Lelouch was back. She almost didn't hear his next words over the roaring in her ears..

"Since you trusted me, you're going to win."

She wasn't sure if the familiar smugness made her reassured or pissed off.

"Jump onto the train."

As soon as the words were spoken, she followed them. She watched with a grin as the exact events of the previous timeline unfolded; Lelouch ambushing her pursuers and Jeremiah ejecting. She wasn't surprised when she looked to see Lelouch gone.

She turned to see Ohgi running towards her, a grin on his face.

"He called!" He shouted. Before Kallen could respond, his walkie talkie crackled.

"Are you the leader here?"

You are now. "Yes. Who is this?"

"I present to you the contents of this train. If you want to win, use them and follow my orders."

Lelouch sat back, holding a chess piece in his hand. He was betting his life in this game, yes, but he was betting the lives of his comrades... Friends, as well. And because of that, he couldn't lose.

I won't let you down, he said with a fierceness he didn't realize he had, but he wasn't sure who he was saying it to.

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**Republished 6/19/16**


	4. Chapter 4: Refrain

**Chapter 4: Refrain**

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the wait! This chapter is much more emotional than the previous ones, and I'd like to apologize for that! It's really bipolar, isn't it? I need to work on that, seriously... Anyway! Once again, if you'd like to vote on what couples you'd like to see more of, there should be a pole up on our profile! Otherwise we'll just keep with Everyone x Lelouch (though mainly characters he interacts with often canonically).**

**DISCLAIMER: Neither my brother or I own Code Geass or its characters! If we did, Lelouch would not have been semi-Hitler! (apologies if that offends anyone!) Also, pretty much none of the tragedy and genocide in R2 would have happened. Seriously, WTF.**

**WARNING: This chapter contains abrupt sadness, craziness, delusions, Suzaku's swift descent into insanity, mild swearing and a bit of Lelouch x Kallen and Lelouch x CC.**

As Suzaku got into the Lancelot, he felt sick.

He shot off after the terrorists, weapons ready. He expected he would destroy them again. What else could he do? He honestly didn't have a choice. He needed the power of the Lancelot, and he didn't think his commanding officers would take well to a soldier not actually attacking the enemy. He let out a long sigh and braced himself for what he had to do. But when he arrived, they weren't there.

They retreated? He wondered, shifting to look from side to side. He let his Knightmare scan the surroundings for any signs of opposing pilots. After a few seconds, the scan was completed. Sure enough, they were gone.

Almost cautiously, he maneuvered around a corner, half expecting to see Lelouch with CC and Kallen, holding an RPG and cackling maniacally. Instead, he was greeted by the flash of Knightmare wheels as they sped around a corner. For a moment he was surprised. Then he pressed forward, following the other machine.

He rounded the corner. Again, he watched as a Knightmare vanished behind debris. He followed it at a slightly faster pace, confused. As he passed by the debris, he just barely managed to catch a glimpse of the Knightmare disappearing behind another building. Slightly irritated, he rolled forward. He looked around a corner carefully. No one.

Now he was frustrated. He moved completely around the obstacle just in time to see, surprise surprise, a Knightmare flashing out of view.

Okay, that's it. He raced after it with angrily, pressing down on the controls. He followed the flashes of metal around each and every bend, dodging past wreckage and debris.

Somehow, no matter how fast he moved, the Knightmare was always rounding a corner just ahead of him. He went at speeds that pushed even the Lancelot, and yet somehow this crappy excuse for a Knightmare dusted him. It was always one step ahead of him, taunting him. He was getting so mad it almost seemed like it was changing colors-

...

Suzaku screeched to a halt.

Wait a second... He carefully surveyed his surroundings. The blackened buildings, the overturned vehicles, the trash and rubble... He recognized it.

He was back where he started.

Very, very slowly, he inched around the corner.

The Knightmare was in the same position as always, skidding out of view just in time.

Once again, Suzaku found himself greeted with several options.

1) Cry

2) Scream

3) Slaughter them all

4) Beat someone to death with a pizza box

5) Never talk to strangers on the internet

6) Commit Seppuku

7) Deck the halls with balls of holly

8) Don't take candy from strangers

9) AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA

10) Turn off the lights when leaving the room

11) Change his name and move to Uganda

Suzaku began banging his head against the controls.

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Lelouch entered into the throne room, feeling an (appropriate) sense of déjà vu. After the Lancelot had been distracted, going through with the rest of his plan was easy. Until he could get through to Suzaku, he mused, there was no point in facing him.

Clovis sat as he did before on the throne, looking down at him with shock as Lelouch stepped into the light.

"L-Lelouch?!" He stammered. The guards began to step forward.

"Leave us," Lelouch ordered firmly. Immediately, their arms went lax. They exited the room, the door slamming behind them. Lelouch turned back to Clovis.

"L-Lelouch! It's so good to see you!" He said, but there was obvious fear in his eyes. Lelouch couldn't really blame him. "I thought you were..."

"Dead?" Lelouch spat harshly. "Well I'm alive, no thanks to you." Clovis flinched.

"I-it wasn't my fault!" He cried. "It was all father! What could I do?"

As weak-willed as ever, Lelouch thought disdainfully, attempting to quell the fire rekindled inside him. Nunnally could have died! His hand found the gun in his pocket and he lifted it at Clovis. The blonde yelped with terror and flung his hands up to cover his face.

"Pl-please! Have m-mercy on me!" Clovis begged. He was trembling pathetically. Lelouch felt a familiar chill run through him.

"Innocents died because of you." Lelouch said coldly. "You're disgusting."

"Don't shoot!" Clovis cried anyway. Lelouch's eyes narrowed. It should be so easy. His finger tightened slightly around the trigger. He should be able to shoot. He had done it before.

And yet... Something in his chest coiled tightly. He remembered it so vividly...pulling the trigger and watching his brother fall, his mouth still open to plead even as his eyes dulled and he hit the floor with that sickening thud. Lelouch shuddered violently and averted his eyes. He felt nauseous.

Clovis peeked from between his hands as he noticed Lelouch's hesitation.

"B-brother?" Clovis tried. Lelouch looked back up and had to physically stop himself from recoiling. Looking at Clovis, all he could see were his lifeless, empty eyes, staring at him, accusing him-

He put a hand on his temple as he felt a migraine coming.

He should just kill him. It's the right thing to do.

But his finger wouldn't move.

Lelouch suddenly released the trigger. He let his arm relax slightly.

"Come with me." Lelouch ordered coldly, ignoring the nervous beat of his heart.

What am I doing?! he wondered furiously as Clovis got a hopeful look on his face. He knew he should have shot him. He knew it.

Yet...

"Lelouch!" Clovis gushed, tears in his eyes. "Thank you so much, I-"

"Quiet!" Lelouch snapped, shoving down any unwarranted emotion rising in his chest. Clovis's mouth shut immediately.

Lelouch gestured towards himself with his gun. His brother slowly stood, his knees shaking.

Clovis started over to him, apprehension still clear in his every movement. Somehow, the hope was more clear. Lelouch gritted his teeth, raising the gun again.

"You're still an enemy," Lelouch muttered, but it felt like he was telling himself.

Clovis stood in front of him, clearly terrified. Lelouch span him around with his free hand, still pointing the gun, and forcefully directed him towards the door. He put the gun against Clovis's back and prodded him forward. The prince stumbled once but regained his footing, managing to walk

"Lelouch." Clovis said quietly. Lelouch grunted in acknowledgment.

"I...I know you hate father, but... But I'm sure our siblings would accept you back." Lelouch's eyes narrowed. Clovis seemed to notice his disbelief, hurrying on.

"I-I mean, you must really be strong." Clovis cleared his throat nervously. "I mean, I know you're strong, b-but you know how father is. I'm sure we'd take you back..."

Lelouch stopped. Clovis seemed to sense the change, carefully turning to face him, his hands still raised.

"I just... I know you hate us... B-but remember Cornelia, Euphie… Schneizel..." He was nervous, but there was some steel behind it. "Dad will have to accept you."

Lelouch's face was shadowed. "I don't want his acceptance!" He hissed fiercely. Clovis flinched again.

"I know...but...you could have come back-"

"No I couldn't! You know I couldn't!" Lelouch spat. Clovis stepped back reflexively. Lelouch suddenly felt like he should apologize. For himself. For everything. For doing this again.

"I - " he started, but was cut off my the door slamming open.

"There he is!"

Lelouch felt a rush of cold. It's over, he realized in a daze. It's all over. They found me. He and Clovis turned to face the door. Troops were coming in, their guns up. Clovis opened his mouth.

"Lelou - "

They fired.

The shots echoed through the room, louder than he remembered them being. Lelouch could only stare wide-eyed as the rounds went off. He found himself tired, but ready. He, for a just a moment, was ready to die. Ready to die again.

But when he saw Clovis fall to the floor, he wasn't ready.

It took him a moment to connect the dots. Deserters, his mind supplied numbly. In a split second his gun was up again. He shot, again and again and again, the cracks hollow and deafening. Somehow he must have hit them, because the shooting stopped.

They were dead, he realized. They were all dead. The gun fell out of his hand, a strange pain shooting through his arm.

Their bodies hit the floor. Lelouch's legs were shaking, and he found himself falling to his knees. He didn't even care that he was getting bloody. He couldn't. Not now.

His eyes found Clovis. He couldn't see his eyes, but somehow he could feel them. He stared. So many wounds. So much blood.

He felt cold.

Suddenly he keeled over, coughing up bile. What? What just happened? Shakily, he looked at his hands. Red. When did that happen? He was dizzy. Sick, even. Why...why am I not dead?

Someone is there.

Wildly, he spun around, brandishing the gun. He was about to pull the trigger blindly when a hand rested on his.

"It's okay." Said a familiar voice he couldn't quite place. "It's okay." He was being hugged from behind, he thought blankly. He couldn't see who it was.

"N-Nunnally?" He whispered, almost delirious. It was getting hard to think. Something hurt. Something really hurt. He could barely tell, though. All he could see was Clovis's empty face, staring, staring…

"..." They were silent for a moment, and Lelouch tensed.

"...Yes. I am Nunnally."

Lelouch relaxed, suddenly feeling overwhelmingly safe.

"I...why am I so sad?" He said, although it didn't feel like it was him saying it. Just some voice, detached from himself. He felt cold. Why was there so much blood? Too much blood…

"It'll be okay." The voice, Nunnally, said. "It's okay."

Lelouch frowned absently. His vision was blurring.

"He...he died...I didn't kill him...but it didn't...matter…" Black was at the edges of his vision.

"Shh, it's okay. Don't move." Don't move? He thought, confused. He tried to turn to ask, but pain ripped through his arm. He let out a strangled gasp, and Nunnally pulled him back into a sort of cradle position, head resting on her. He tried to look at her, but the world was slipping away.

"Nunnally…" He whispered deliriously, sinking into unconsciousness. He couldn't hold out any longer, he realized. "Nunnally, I... didn't want to kill him. I don't...I don't want to see...them die…"

For a moment, they were quiet.

"I know, Lelouch. I know."

Everything went dark.

((THIS IS A PAGE BREAK))

"Kallen."

The voice buzzed through the pilot's radio. She had parked her Knightmare outside of Clovis's mobile command center. She started with surprise at the sound.

"Who is this?!" She demanded. "How did you-"

"Kallen. He's been shot. Clovis died, but he's been shot."

"Shot?! Who?! Who are you?!"

"CC."

Kallen froze.

"CC?"

"Yes."

Silence. CC... That means... Kallen's heart pounded. She was scared to ask, but…

"Who's been shot?"

"..."

Kallen's anger spiked.

"Dammit, who?!"

"It's Lelouch."

Kallen slammed her hand against the dashboard. "Damnit! Dammit, dammit, dammit!" She hit the exit button, grabbing the radio and a Britannian first aid kit. She slid out the door, her feet slamming painfully against the ground, but she didn't care.

"Where are you now?!"

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Kallen ran down the hallway, carrying the kit. Her mind was spinning. Just under a minute ago, she received word from CC.

Clovis was dead? Lelouch was injured? How did this happen?! This wasn't supposed to happen.

Blood was roaring in her ears as she flat out sprinted down the hallway. Finally, she reached the doors, flinging them open frantically.

"I have it!" She shouted between pants. Where's Lelouch!? Is he dead?! She wondered desperately, looking wildly around the room. Finally, she noticed all the blood. She almost choked. There were dead bodies everywhere. Most looked like they had been shot multiple times.

Then she saw him; Lelouch, his face even paler than normal. He looked feverish. Her heart panged, but she ignored it, walking forward.

CC looked up. She had Lelouch's head in her lap and was raking her fingers through his hair, trying to rid it of all the dried blood. Her face looked as apathetic as usual, although there was a strange edge to it. It pissed Kallen off.

"How is he?" She asked nervously, kneeling next to CC. Automatically, the codebearer tightened her grip on Lelouch and pulled him closer. Kallen was surprised for a moment, then angry.

"I have to treat him." She said deliberately. CC looked miffed, but reluctantly let Kallen come closer.

Kallen flinched as she saw the wound; it was a shot right through his left arm. She pulled out the tweezers.

"This will hurt." She murmured apologetically, digging them into the wound. Lelouch flinched violently and cried out, his eyes flying open.

"W-Where-" He began. Kallen glared at him.

"Sleep, Lelouch." She snapped. "You need to rest. You've lost a lot of blood."

"I...I what?" He managed. CC shushed him.

"Sleep." She commanded. Lelouch tried to protest, but instead let out a grunt as the tweezer in his arm moved. Black was on the fringes of his vision from the unbearable pain. He had to bite his lip to keep from screaming.

"Where...where is Nunnally? She was…" He wavered, hissing as the tweezer moved slightly again. Flares of pain shot down his arm. He felt groggy, struggling to stay awake. Kallen looked at CC in confusion.

"Nunnally?" She said. CC got a strange look in her eye.

"Go back to sleep. You must have imagined it." She said dismissively. Lelouch got a pained look on his face, but soon his eyes closed again and he fell into a feverish sleep.

Immediately Kallen got back to work on Lelouch, removing the bullet and treating the wound with the advanced Britannian serum. It would heal almost 7 times as fast as it would have otherwise. As she bandaged up the wound, she noticed how quiet CC had been, not even commenting condescendingly on her treatment method. She looked almost conflicted.

"...what did you tell him?"

CC glanced at her sharply. "What do you mean?"

"Nunnally. You told him you were Nunnally so he'd relax."

CC didn't respond.

"Tch. Whatever." Kallen muttered. Why am I so angry? she wondered, looking away deliberately. She should be happy that CC was here to help Lelouch. Of course she was. Lelouch was alive, after all. That was the most she could ask for.

Quite a reunion this was, she thought dryly. I almost watched him die for the second time. What fun.

Kallen still couldn't shake the strange heaviness in the pit of her stomach. She was glad CC had helped him, yeah, but somehow... She let out a frustrated sigh. What was wrong with her? As the two of them supported Lelouch to get him to a hospital, the answer became clear to her, no matter how much she tried to convince herself it wasn't the case.

I wanted to be there for him.

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**Republished 6/19/16**


	5. Chapter 5: Recovery

**Chapter 5: Recovery**

**A/N: Sorry for being gone for so long! We were on vacation in a place without wifi. We'll be trying to get the chapter out faster next time!**

**DISCLAIMER: We do not own Code Geass! Why...why would you think that? Did you...did you read this story? Or the Author's Note?...What?**

Lelouch hurt.

A lot.

He had only been in the hospital for a day and he had already gone through a world of pain. Both the treatments and the space between treatments was like a living hell. The only breaks he had were the feverish naps he took before being roused by a nurse to be taken to another room.

CC was his most active visitor. By that, I mean she was his only visitor.

After his first checkup by the doctors, Lelouch passed out. A few hours later when he woke up, CC was sitting in a chair next to the bed, holding his hand.

"Uhh." He stared at the offending appendage as if it was some sort of strange creature from the beyond. "What are you doing?" He asked intelligently.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm holding your hand." she replied without even a hint of inflection in her voice. "Isn't that how people comfort one another?"

"I'm sure." Lelouch said dryly, retrieving his hand to try to brush back his hair. Instead, he ended up gasping as an indescribable pain shot through his arm.

"I wouldn't suggest that." CC said mildly. Lelouch shot her a glare.

"Thanks for the warning." He managed through gritted teeth, his voice strangled with pain. After a few minutes, it died down. He relaxed slightly. His mind was a bit of a mess, and he was still trying to sort out what had happened for him to end up in here. It all seemed so vague and fuzzy. He frowned slightly. His thoughts were cut off shortly.

"So," CC said, "How are you?"

Lelouch wished that facepalming would not result in him screaming in agony. He settled for a dry glare. "Just peachy," he retorted sarcastically. CC gave him a deadpan look.

"Oh. I guess I'll be leaving then." She said, and began to stand up. Lelouch's eyes widened.

"Wait- You're just-leaving?" He spluttered, dumbfounded, as she calmly walked across the room. She turned slightly.

"...Yeah."

"B-but-"

"I've been waiting here for four hours." She replied coolly. Without another word, she walked out the door.

Lelouch stared after her, shocked. She just...left?

Sighing and huffing out a 'fine, be that way', he leaned back into the pillow.

Memories started coming back slowly as he concentrated. He went to confront Clovis and tried to shoot him, but he didn't...then what?

Oh.

The deserters. They must have lost hope in Clovis and decided to side with the freedom fighters at the last last second. Lelouch sniffed. He was disgusted at how easily they changed sides, even if it was to his. He shook his head, focusing back on his memories.

They charged in and... shot Clovis. His heart clenched violently as the memory flooded into his mind, horribly vivid. He wasn't prepared for the onslaught of emotion it gave him.

"Why?" He growled to himself. "Why am I so angry? I killed him last time. It was me, and I did it without a second thought." It was no good. He felt sick just remembering it.

He had killed his own brother without remorse, without mercy. He killed him even as he pleaded for forgiveness.

He was as coward, a sharp part of his mind pointed out. He was evil and cruel. And he was a fool. So many people died because of him.

And yet…

Clovis was his brother. He was a human, just like anyone else.

He moved onward in his memories, pushing down any emotions threatening to overtake him.

He shot at the deserters, but he didn't know how many of them he hit. One of them shot him, too. He went down pretty early and probably bled out quite a bit. So... who killed those people?

He supposed it didn't really matter. It could have been loyalists, it could have been an officer, hell, it could have been Genghis Khan. In the end, they were dead. All he knew was that CC and Kallen found him (which raised several more questions), bleeding to death next to the body of his brother.

He sighed for what felt like the thousandth time that day, letting his head rest against the headboard of the small hospital bed.

It's too late now. You're not even missing anything. It's the exact same as it was before.

Nothing was different. Nothing was wrong. Everything was fine.

Clovis was cruel and evil. He killed thousands of innocent people because of his ignorant elitism. He couldn't cry for Clovis.

But... he could cry for his brother. And he could cry for another mislead man who died, a casualty of war. He could cry. And then he'd move on. Because he had to. Because his brother was Clovis and he was Zero.

Outside the door of the pristine hospital room, CC leaned against the wall.

And so it began.

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Lelouch had just gotten out of school and was walking across the school grounds when he saw the white van drive up beside him.

Huh, he thought, that's odd, just as someone in a suspicious looking hood climbed out of the back.

"Uh…" He said very eloquently. He wasn't exactly sure how to react to this situation. Naturally, his first instinct was to run away, but he seriously doubted that would work considering his grades in gym. To be honest, he never thought a situation like this would actually happen.

"Are you...here to kidnap me?" He ventured, dumbfounded by the sheer stereotypicalness of this situation.

"Uh... yeah?" Said the hooded man. Lelouch narrowed his eyes. That voice sounded familiar…

"...Ohgi?" He tried. The hooded figure visibly flinched.

"Uhhh….uhm…." He stuttered uncertainly. Suddenly, another hooded person jumped out from the van.

"DAMMIT OHGI! You weren't supposed to talk to him!" The obviously female voice shouted, smacking the other over the back of the head. Lelouch blinked, utterly lost.

"...Kallen? Why aren't you at school…?" It occurred to him slightly too late that he shouldn't know who Kallen is, but that was hardly his biggest problem currently. His biggest problem was that they were trying to kidnap him, in a windowless white van of all things! He almost sighed. Kids these day have no creativity, he thought sadly.

He was brought out of his musings just in time to see Ohgi speak again.

"I-It's not my fault! He talked to me first! It would be impolite not to respond!"

Lelouch could practically hear the female one roll her eyes. "Oh sure, because etiquette is soooo important when you're going to kidnap someone!"

"W-well I wouldn't want to be rude!"

"Ugh, just forget it!" The girl rubbed her face like this was a common argument they had. Lelouch wouldn't be all that surprised. "I can't believe I sent you out to do the kidnapping..." She muttered. "You probably couldn't kidnap a comatose toddler!"

"B-but-!"

"Oh, be quiet!" The girl, undoubtedly Kallen, snapped. She whipped around to face Lelouch.

"I have to do everything myself!" She complained before assuming a fighting stance. It suddenly occurred to Lelouch that he should be running from the trained soldiers instead of watching them bicker. He immediately turned around and started sprinting.

"Hey, w-wait! GET BACK HERE!" Kallen shouted. No way! Lelouch thought, but was already panting too hard to speak. He heard the thudding of footsteps behind him as he continued his ill-fated, desperate run.

He heard a whooshing noise.

"HIYAH!"

A foot cracked against the back of his head, and he was out cold.

Maybe I shouldn't have skipped leg day, he thought as he fell forward. And by leg day I mean every single day of gym.

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Lelouch felt like he was just run over by a truck. A rather light truck, but a truck nonetheless.

His head was swimming. Groggy, he blinked once, immediately regretting it as white light pierced his vision. He quickly shut his eyes. After a few seconds, he slowly attempted to open them again, squinting against the brightness in an attempt to adjust. Finally, he managed to open them enough to see.

His vision was swimming as he strained to survey his surroundings. His vision was clearing slowly; everything in front of him looked grey.

Oh wait. No. He was in a cellar. Correction: everything was grey.

Blinking and trying to ignore his second major injury in two days (not including his death), he attempted to look around. Every time he turned his head, his skull pounded. He flinched and opted for looking straight forward.

He was tied to a chair, his legs bound. His right arm was, too, but the cast on his left prevented his captors from doing anything to it (not that it would be of much use). He faintly registered the bindings, mentally cataloging them. They were shoddy and rushed. How long exactly had he been out?

It was a cliché setup; he was tied to a chair in front of a metal table in a dark (and rather foul-smelling) room. There was an extremely bright lamp on the desk angled straight at his face. He sighed, more tired than afraid. If he wasn't going crazy, OHGI was one of his captors. What could go wrong?

The door slammed open. Lelouch jumped at the loud noise, looking up to see Kallen storming into the room. Oh yeah, this could go wrong.

Kallen slammed her hands on the table with an impressive bang! Lelouch faintly wondered what he had done to deserve this. Other than commit genocide. And betray everyone he loved.

"WHAT HAPPENED THIS TIME!?"

Lelouch thought he might fall out of his chair from the sheer wind force of her shouting.

"Uhh...what?"

"YOU HEARD ME! IT'S DIFFERENT THIS TIME! WHAT HAPPENED?!"

Lelouch, his headache and confusion only increasing from her incredibly loud shouting, slowly began to process what she had said. This time…?

The door opened again. Both he and Kallen stared as a very distressed-looking Ohgi entered.

"Kallen! I told you to wait!"

"I can't wait!" Kallen said almost petulantly. "Don't tell me to wait! Don't tell me what to do!"

Lelouch watched numbly, still trying to understand what was going on. He was mostly just impressed he hadn't gone deaf yet.

"Kallen! We need to go about this sensibly!"

"Sensibly?! I'm PERFECTLY sensible!"

His ears were ringing, and his head really, really hurt. His mind slogged through the new information, a mess of agony and disbelief that this was actually happening. 'This time'...what did she mean? It meant something, he knew, but it was just barely escaping him. His brow creased with frustration.

"We should have discussed this! Now he'll never tell us anything!"

"Sure he will! He's Lelouch! Just beat him around the head a bit! He'll probably talk!"

"Kallen!"

Lelouch was on the brink of something, he was sure.

"It's fine! I just need to know what happened! He was shot for goodness sake!"

"That doesn't mean you get to just go and 'interrogate' him!"

"We have to! It's the only way!"

"Oh!"

Both Kallen and Ohgi turned as Lelouch suddenly spoke.

I forgot he was here, Kallen sweatdropped.

"You two...you time travelled!"

For a moment, Kallen and Ohgi stared at him in stunned silence.

For the second time that day, Kallen slammed her hands against the metal table. A loud cracking noise accompanied the bang this time.

"HOW DID YOU KNOW THAT?!" Kallen demanded, leaning across the table threateningly.

Lelouch attempted to raise his hands in a placating movement, remembered he was tied up, and gave up. "I time travelled too!"

Kallen looked taken aback.

"You... I... what?"

"I time travelled too. We must have all been sent back here for some reason."

Ohgi nodded enthusiastically. "I knew other people must've come back with us! That explains why CC communicated with Kallen!"

Kallen slowly processed this information. She turned livid again in less than a second.

"YOU IDIOT! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US?!" She demanded. Lelouch frowned.

"And risk you calling me crazy? Of course not! Besides, how would I have known that you had time travelled?"

"No! I mean, why didn't you tell us?! That stunt you pulled! What were you thinking?!"

Lelouch blinked. It was his turn to be taken aback.

"Stunt?"

"Killing yourself? Convincing us to hate you? Betraying everyone?!" Kallen grabbed the collar of his shirt, yanking him forward. "Did you even think about what you were doing?"

Lelouch suddenly felt uneasy. "Kallen, I…"

"Everyone hated you! We all thought you were crazy, Lelouch! Didn't you trust us at all?"

Lelouch flinched slightly. He refused to look her in the eye. He was afraid of a confrontation like this. He messed up. What could he even say?

"She's right, Lelouch," Ohgi said sadly. "You should have told us. We could have helped you."

"I…" Lelouch trailed off ruefully, turning his head away. He couldn't really say anything to make up for everything he did and said. For a moment, he closed his eyes, thinking.

"If…" He paused. He turned back to Kallen, opening his eyes.

"If I had had asked, would you have followed me into Hell?" He asked, staring at her steadily. She couldn't help but be surprised by his intensity.

"Of course!" Kallen said, angry at being doubted. Ohgi nodded, frowning.

"Exactly." Lelouch let his head fall to the side again, looking at the floor. "I can't let you follow me on a path like that. It wouldn't be fair to you." His expression tightened. "I couldn't do that to you. I wouldn't wish what I did upon anyone. I couldn't let you suffer for it."

For a moment, there was a heavy silence on the room.

"Idiot."

Lelouch looked up. Kallen's head was down, and he couldn't see her expression.

"You seriously think we'd listen to some hippie crap like that?!" She looked up at him, her eyes fiery. "Who do you think we are?"

Ohgi stepped forward determinedly. "Of course we'd follow you!"

Lelouch faltered slightly before recovering. "You betrayed me!" He tried.

"We betrayed you because you didn't trust us. You didn't let us in. How could we have helped you?" Ohgi said.

Kallen nodded fiercely. "Don't think you're sparing us from anything! We experienced enough suffering because of it!"

Lelouch blinked. "I…"

"Don't you start!" Kallen snapped. "We...we wanted to help you! Why wouldn't you let us!" Lelouch opened his mouth, but she shook her head. "Don't answer that. I understand. But I'll never agree with it. We would have gone through Hell with you, Lelouch! And we would have pulled you out!"

"Kallen..."

"Lelouch, I respect you. I trust you." She looked away, suddenly red in the face. "Just...trust us too."

Lelouch was so taken aback by the speech that, for once, he didn't have an answer. He was dumbfounded. He never thought... He never knew…

Ohgi stepped forward, putting his hand on Lelouch's good shoulder. "So please, help us. And let us help you… Zero."

Lelouch felt an overwhelming feeling of...happiness? Thankfulness? Regret? All of them?

"I…" Suddenly, he smiled. Not an overconfident smirk or a grimace. An actual smile.

"Thank you." He leaned back slightly, sighing. He said a mantra that seemed very common with him recently. "This time... Things will be different."

The sound of slow clapping sliced through the emotional moment like a knife.

"That was a touching reunion, but if Lelouch is to incite a revolution, he really needs to get to bed."

Everyone turned in surprise. There, leaning against the doorframe, was CC in all her glory, holding a piece of pepperoni pizza.

"CC?" Lelouch said.

"Oh yes," she said, almost sarcastic, "forget about me already?"

"How... How long have you been here?" Ohgi managed, shocked.

"Long enough." She yawned and took another bite of her pizza. "You humans and your long-winded speeches."

Kallen sweatdropped. "CC... you are a human... right?"

"Well, I think it's about time we wrapped this charming meeting up, don't you?" CC calmly strolled across the room and plucked Kallen's hand from Lelouch's shirt. The pilot was so surprised she didn't even react.

"Lelouch, it really is time we go." CC said, walking around to Lelouch's side of the table. Her eyes slid to Ohgi. "Or should I say Zero now?" Ohgi blushed.

"It was spur-of-the-moment." He defended.

CC sighed, surveying the room critically. "Your interior design skills really leave something to be desired, even if this is just an extra basement room." She glanced at Kallen. "Although what else can I expect from you?"

Kallen, rage rekindled, slammed her hands on the table for the third time that day. It promptly broke and crashed to the floor.

The lamp hit the ground and shattered, plunging them into darkness as the table's fractured pieces hit the ground, banging and clattering deafeningly. After a few minutes, the sound finally stopped.

…

"Would someone please untie me now?"

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**Republished 6/19/16**


	6. Chapter 6: Explanation

**Chapter 6: Explanation**

**A/N: Hi everyone! I'm very sorry for the wait for this chapter! We also started working on a Bleach fan fiction (also time travel, how redundant), so updates might start taking a bit longer. My apologies! Also, I'd like to thank you all so much for reading, favoriting, following, and reviewing! We know that every fan fiction author and their mother gush about how thankful they are, but we truly are grateful. We're new to this whole thing, and it's quite a great experience! Anyway, I'll cut to the more important stuff.**

**ACTUAL IMPORTANT QUESTION HERE FOR ALL WHO SKIP AUTHOR'S NOTES: What do you guys think about Suzaku x Euphemia? Included but subtle? Just bros? Eating each other's faces? It's up to you, since we still have them both paired with Lelouch anyway. We'll make it work (hopefully).**

**Another question; how about Rivalz x Milly? We are not planning for that, and it even goes against some of the plot, so do you have any other ideas for what to do with Rivalz? Will you find us and eat us for dinner if we don't pair them, or do you not care? Remember, side couple suggestions are welcome.**

**And what do you want to do with Nina? Include her? Ignore her? Make her a bad guy? Burn her at the stake? Make her a ~good person~ with the power of ~friendship~? Once again, up to you.**

**Thank you to all who read the author's note, or just or story at all!**

**DISCLAIMER: We do not own Code Geass. If we did, Suzaku would have not been a jerkwad and together he and Lelouch would be total bros and fly into the sunset on a meterosexual rainbow. That didn't make any sense, did it? That's fine. Okay let's just move on.**

"Why should we trust you?!" Kallen demanded, right on cue.

Lelouch felt a rush of familiarity at those words. He currently stood at the front of the train, as he did before, in front of a small group of freedom fighters. Why should they trust me? That traitorous part of his mind wondered. He banished the thought drearily. How melodramatic could he get?

After finally being released by the others, he decided the best course of action was to just follow what they did last time. Making all the anonymous phone calls and leading the group around was much more fun than you'd expect. When they finally arrived, they were skeptical and awed (just how he liked them). All he had to do now was seal the deal. He just hoped Ohgi and Kallen stuck to their plan.

He was evidently silent for a moment too long; the soldiers began murmuring hesitantly. Kallen gave him a pointed (worried) look. He quickly snapped out of his retrospection.

"I think Ohgi can tell you that much."

They turned to look at their leader with surprise. Ohgi gulped nervously.

Let's hope this works…

"Zero and I set this up before the battle." Ohgi lied, sounding more sure than he felt. Immediately the forces became agitated.

"What?!" One said furiously. "Why didn't you tell us?"

Ohgi looked slightly panicked, so Lelouch cut in. "I would not have come to your aid if he had told you."

"Why not?! We're fighting for the same cause!"

It's important to handle this very carefully, Lelouch reminded himself. If I screw this up, I'll definitely have a disaster on my hands.

"I did not want you to have false hope too early." Lelouch said. He paused before adding, "and I couldn't risk word getting out." He looked pointedly at Tamaki.

"Hey!"

"Good point. Still, how are we supposed to know you aren't playing us?" Kallen asked, sealing the deal. The other soldiers murmured in agreement. Lelouch ignored the familiar pang at her words. He was the one who scripted this earlier today - really, he was too dramatic for his own good.

"For you, I shall do the impossible." He intoned theatrically. Kallen rolled her eyes, and he couldn't help but crack a smile beneath his mask.

"I shall defy the Britannian Government and survive!" He said with a flare, sweeping his left arm to the side. He regretted it immediately as a hot burst of pain shot through him. He flinched. He was definitely bleeding.

Oops, he thought with a cringe, continuing anyway. It's a small price to pay for being fabulous.

"I shall save... Private Kururuugi!" He said dramatically, his voice strained. I think my bone broke again.

The fighters looked shocked.

"Save Private Kururuugi?" One said with shock. "How?!"

Lelouch smirked. "You'll see."

A rush of excitement at their awed faces was worth the possibility that a bone was currently puncturing his skin. If everything went according to plan, Zero would be incorporated into the group much earlier. Not only that, Ohgi would be put in a better light if (when) saving Suzaku worked.

"Do you expect our help so suddenly?!" One soldier complained. "As if!"

"I need only two others." He stated, subtly clutching his left arm closer to himself. "Two of my other associates will be helping us out."

"Two? There's no w-"

"I'll help." Kallen said boldly, stepping forward. Lelouch almost shed a happy tear at her theatricalness. They grow up so fast.

"W-what?! Kallen?" One of the others spluttered.

"What's there to lose?" Kallen challenged. "He helped us out once already."

"I will too, of course." Ohgi said, stepping forward as well. He radiated confidence.

Lelouch found himself smiling fondly. Ohgi and Kallen stood shoulder to shoulder, playing their parts perfectly. He hoped that their determination was true, but acting or not, it was a touching performance.

I should probably get to the hospital now.

((THIS IS A PAGE BREAK))

"So, you managed to break your arm again."

Lelouch glared at CC weakly from the hospital bed that he was getting far too acquainted with. After the train, he headed straight back to the same room he had been in before. He could have sworn that the nurse rolled her eyes at him when he had to explain how he hurt himself. Of course, he excluded the part about being a terrorist. He doubted he would have been admitted into the hospital then.

"How was I supposed to know that I could break it by being fabulous?" He grumbled. CC sighed.

"Honestly. How am I supposed to work with an idiot for a contractor?"

"Not an idiot! A tactician!"

"Now if only you could function outside of battle." She replied coolly. Lelouch flinched.

"Now that was completely unnecessary."

"I would hardly say that. Someone needs to be hard on you, after all."

Lelouch let out an exasperated laugh.

"I guess you're right." He sighed, attempting to shift to accommodate his injured arm arm. "I really do need you."

CC stiffened slightly and quickly turned her head away. Lelouch blinked. In the afternoon sunlight, it almost looked like she was... blushing…?

"I'll do it."

Lelouch was pulled out of his incredulity as CC spoke.

"What?"

"I'll be Zero."

Lelouch gave her a confused look.

"Huh? Why?"

"Idiot. If both you and Zero have broken arms, wouldn't that be suspicious? Besides, Zero can't show weakness to the public."

Lelouch frowned. "I can't put you in danger like that! What if it doesn't work out?"

CC turned back to him, giving her best dry look (which was pretty darn good). He absentmindedly decided the blush was just his imagination.

"I'm immortal." CC deadpanned.

"Yeah, but-!"

"-Besides, this is a good chance to increase your standing with the forces. How could they suspect Lelouch and Zero are the same person if they're in the same place at the same time?"

"What do you mean?"

"You'll drive the escape truck." She said. "Ohgi and Kallen will be in the car."

Lelouch thought for a moment before shaking his head. "No, no, Kallen will cover us from a Knightmare. Ohgi will drive the car. I can pick you up when you escape." He turned the idea over in his head. "Not only will I interact with them, no one will suspect I'm Zero..."

CC gave him a look. Lelouch sighed.

"Yeah, you're right." He admitted. "This plan way makes more sense."

"What will you do about Jeremiah?"

Lelouch couldn't help but remember how loyally Jeremiah had followed both he and his mother. How crushed he had been when all of his pride was destroyed by Zero. He let out a long sigh. He couldn't do that to him.

"Well, we can't let him take the blame like last time." Lelouch said.

"Why not?"

"Because…" Lelouch trailed off. "Because... I don't want him to suffer like that again.

CC gave him a steady look for a few moments before speaking.

"You've changed, Lelouch." Lelouch gave her a weak smile.

"I sure hope it's for the better."

"So, what shall we do instead?"

Lelouch grinned. "I was just waiting for you to ask."

((THIS IS A PAGE BREAK))

It's amazing how dull getting tied up and threatened by military officers can get after a while.

Suzaku sighed wearily as he sat on the carrier to his trial. From the sidelines, Britannians booed at him, shouting insults. He scowled. He protected their country! Darn kids these days have no respect.

Over the past 24 hours, life had been hard. He had been dragged off by angry Britannians, interrogated by Jeremiah, tied up, beaten, kicked, put in jail, 'comforted' by Lloyd (which was not the scientist's strong suit, if the laughs and 'well you might survive!'s were anything to go by), and now was being driven past a crowd that was only a few pitchforks and torches short of being an angry mob. He was just waiting for the rotten tomatoes to start flying.

A small, extremely pessimistic part of his mind began to wonder if Zero-no, Lelouch-was even coming. He let out a tired sigh and was in turn electrocuted by the collar around his neck.

Just as his knees were starting to blister from all the kneeling, lo and behold, over the horizon came Clovis's Royal Transport.

What took them so long? He wondered dryly as the crowd around him fell into chaos.

((THIS IS A PAGE BREAK))

"I am... Zero!"

CC absentmindedly noted the accuracy of the voice changer she wore as she descended into the speech Lelouch had her memorize.

"Who is this person? The one who calls himself Zero? Standing in front of a full military convoy?" The announcer intoned. CC rolled her eyes. She could imagine the absolute joy Lelouch had felt at the sheer drama (ridiculousness) of the situation.

"Who is this man calling himself Zero?" The announcer cried again. How sexist, she thought sadly. He continued to blather on and eventually CC resolved to ignore him.

Honestly. Humans. So silly, so strange.

"I've seen enough of this Zero. This little show of yours is over!" Jeremiah said in what seemed to be almost rehearsed frustration. CC frowned, storing that information absently.

Knightmares dropped from their transports above, shaking the ground. CC adjusted her balance, but she refused to stumble. Her cape billowed majestically in the wind. She couldn't help but smirk. What a ridiculously flamboyant outfit.

"First things first. Lose the mask!" Jeremiah called, his voice strained. CC didn't bother to waste time monologuing any longer. She lifted a hand and snapped.

The covers to their patched-together vehicle fell away. There was the container that she herself had been held in, revealed for all to see. She was hard-pressed not to glare at it, not exactly thrilled by the reminder of her imprisonment.

"Be careful, Jeremiah!" Viletta shouted as she climbed out of her nightmare. "He's got the-"

"I know." Jeremiah said. CC's eyes narrowed.

Suddenly, Jeremiah's hand rose. He aimed his gun straight for CC, just as she had been told it would.

"You intend to shoot?" CC challenged. "You know full well what's in this container." Jeremiah hesitated for a moment.

"Fine. What are your demands?" He said, lowering the gun. Somehow, he seemed relieved.

"An exchange. This, for Kururuugi."

"Y…" Suddenly, Jeremiah stopped. CC frowned. Lelouch didn't warn her about this. Jeremiah got a conflicted look on his face for a moment before opening his mouth. Before he could speak, he was cut off by the man standing next to him.

"Never! Private Kururuugi murdered Prince Clovis, and he must be brought to justice!"

Unexpected, but not unwelcome, CC thought. She plunged onward.

"No. You're mistaken. He's no murderer."

At that moment, she saw that fool Diethard run out, a camera on his shoulder. She rolled her eyes but didn't stop, knowing Lelouch would get a kick out of this.

"I killed Clovis." She said bluntly, not bothering for the dramaticism Lelouch so loved. She was tiring of this tedious work.

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**Republished 6/19/16**


	7. Chapter 7: Miracle

**Chapter 7: Miracle**

**I'm sorry this chapter is so late. Life has been pretty hectic for us. Our father had a stroke recently and everything's been really jumbled together. I'm sorry.**

**We hope to get back on schedule with posting the chapters soon.**

**DISCLAIMER: WE DO NOT OWN CODE GEASS! THIS IS CALLED FANFICTION FOR A REASON!**

**WARNING: MILD SWEARING, LELOUCH IS POPULAR, SOME MILD SUZALULU (IF YOU LOOK) AS PER A REQUEST.**

The crowd gasped, shocked. Diethard got a look of such glee she wanted to go over and smack him.

"For a single Eleven, you'll save scores of precious Britannians. I find that to be quite the bargain."

Jeremiah looked almost desperate. "We can't hand him over!"

"Jeremiah! You must think!" Viletta urged frantically from behind him. Even the man who had first spoken against handing over Suzaku looked conflicted.

"Be careful. You don't want all these people to die, now do you?"

Jeremiah got a befuddled look on his face, as if he had been expecting something else. He looked like a deer caught in the headlights. CC narrowed her eyes.

An actor whose script has just been changed, she mused.

"L-lower your weapons!" Jeremiah said suddenly, confused. Viletta nodded desperately from behind him, knowing the gas might be released at any moment. The car beneath CC inched forward as the Knightmares surrounding her slowly backed off.

"I'll trade the prisoner in exchange for the detonator," CC said.

Jeremiah nodded stiffly, grabbing a very disgruntled Suzaku and yanking him to his feet. The atmosphere grew tense as he dropped off the platform, dragging the prisoner along with him.

CC jumped off the platform as well, knowing no one would dare to attack after such a dramatic performance. She calmly walked forward, meeting with Jeremiah halfway between their vehicles.

Jeremiah was giving her an oddly intense look. After a moment, he pushed Suzaku towards her. She steadied him easily.

"Now...the detonator." He said deliberately. CC simply pulled Suzaku behind her, preparing to shield him.

"The detonator! Hand it over!" Villetta shouted angrily from her Knightmare.

"Sorry." CC said insincerely. In a swift movement, she raised her gun and shot.

A loud bang was heard, and the poison gas was pouring out of Clovis's old car. The Britannians began panicking. Immediately, CC ran, pulling Suzaku along with her.

"Wh-what?! He shot Jeremiah!"

"I knew it!" Kenwall hissed, starting up his Knightmare again. He began to charge forward towards Clovis's vehicle, but was stopped in his tracks when one of their own Knightmares shot out in front of him.

"Soldier? What do you think you're doing?!" He shouted. In response, the Knightmare shot his legs, causing his mech to completely collapse.

"What the hell?!" He cursed, attempting to move his vehicle. Instead, it made an awful crunching noise, sparks flying out of the controls. He gritted his teeth in frustration as the other Knightmare shot away. He slammed his first against the dashboard.

"Dammit!" He shouted. Him, a commander, foiled by some no-name rebel pilot?! He face burned with indignation.

"Everyone!" He roared, "After that Knightmare!"

Immediately, the soldiers shot into action, all careening into the smoke. CC nodded to herself as she ran. She spared a glance back at the car; out of the driver's seat jumped Ohgi. Kallen's Knightmare came out of the haze as well, and she quickly climbed out. Behind them was absolute chaos as the Britannians crashed through the smoke, shooting at each other blindly. Whoever had ordered the attack would be getting quite the talking to after such a terrible failure. They would become the scapegoat in place of Jeremiah - just as Lelouch had planned. CC couldn't help but feel a spark of pride for her contractor that she stubbornly ignored.

They sprinted across the bridge. CC stopped at the edge for a moment, waiting for Suzaku to catch up.

"Jump." She commanded him calmly. She easily leapt off the side, landing in the netting below. She looked up, surprised to see Suzaku right behind her, not a hint of hesitation.

"Follow me." She instructed. She pulled herself up, glancing off to the side. As Lelouch had said, a truck pulled up. The top was open.

"There will be a cushion inside." She told Suzaku. She hoisted herself over the edge, dropping in. Suzaku and Ohgi soon followed.

When she landed inside, she started with surprise. Lelouch hadn't told her the cushioning would be…

"Stuffed animals?" She said incredulously. She picked one up, inspecting it. No way…

"Are these...My Little Pony plush dolls?" Suzaku asked, confused.

CC sighed. "Indeed they are."

The truck pulled away.

((THIS IS A PAGE BREAK))

Lelouch, driving the truck, muttered to himself.

"It's not my fault…" He grumbled. "How was I supposed to know that it was a Toys R Us truck?! They should just be glad it wasn't filled with Legos!"

He finally pulled into the pre-Black Knight's hideout. As expected, they immediately ran out to greet them.

"Zero! Zero! Zero!" They chanted enthusiastically.

The back of the truck opened. CC stepped out. She inwardly rolled her eyes as she recalled what Lelouch had told her to say.

"My good people," She intoned as dramatically as she could bear without gagging, "I have done the impossible! I have brought you a prisoner of Britannia!"

"Zero! Zero! Zero!" They shouted.

"You really are a miracle worker!" One cried.

"We shouldn't have doubted you!"

Lelouch scowled to himself. They didn't do this last time I saved Suzaku! I can't believe CC's getting all the glory. She doesn't even LIKE it!

"Now, I must speak to Kururuugi in private." She said. With a sweep of her cape, she waltzed away, trusting Suzaku would follow after such a performance.

As Suzaku and CC had left, Kallen and Ohgi climbed out of the truck.

"I can't believe Lelouch convinced CC to show such dramaticism!" Ohgi whispered to Kallen. Kallen nodded and opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off as one of the girls, Kyoura, walked over.

"Wait...if you two are here, who was driving the truck?" She asked curiously. "The back and front are separated, right?"

Kallen and Ohgi simultaneously froze.

Shit, what do we say?!

"It...uh…."

"Can we tell them?!" Ohgi hissed to Kallen. Kyoura frowned.

"What'd you say?"

"Uh… N-nothing!" Ohgi managed. Kallen and Ohgi exchanged a terrified glance. What are they supposed to tell her?!

"Oh, it was me."

All three of them turned in surprise to see Lelouch calmly step out of the truck. Kyoura's eyes widened.

"Wow." She said, suddenly smiling. "Who's this handsome guy?"

Kallen turned slightly pink with anger.

"My name is Lelouch." He introduced himself calmly. "And who might you be?"

"Call me Kyoura." She said with a grin. "Why're you here? Haven't seen you around before."

"Oh, I work with Zero."

"Really?" Another soldier who had overheard asked. "How do you know each other?"

"Business associates." Lelouch replied.

A crowd of people asking questions slowly began to gather around him, curious about this 'associate of Zero'. Kallen and Ohgi could only watch, stunned, as Lelouch grew in popularity by the second.

"Did...did that just happen?" Ohgi asked, stunned.

"Yes," Kallen said, "yes it did."

((THIS IS A PAGE BREAK))

Lelouch finally managed to get away from the crowd, telling them he had to leave for now. He speed-walked as fast as he could after Suzaku and CC, hoping to catch their conversation. Panting, he ducked behind a wall, close enough to listen in.

As soon as they were far enough from the rest of the forces, Suzaku spoke.

"Cut the crap, Lelouch."

Lelouch froze in his hiding spot.

What?! Impossible!

CC turned to Suzaku, mildly surprised.

"What?"

"I know who you are." He said coldly. "So you may as well drop the act."

CC paused for a moment, processing what this meant.

"...If you know who I am, why do we need to talk?"

Suzaku sighed. For a moment, he didn't say anything, opting instead to turn away from CC, staring at the sky through the half-destroyed walls. He closed his eyes.

"What do you think you're doing, Lelouch?"

CC didn't respond, so Suzaku kept talking.

"Terrorism? Rebellion? This isn't right! What are you trying to achieve?" He turned to face CC fiercely.

"Suzaku…" Lelouch whispered to himself.

"Is it really just for revenge? Is getting back at your father all you want?! All these people, each with their own story, their own tragedy... yet you continue to only act for what you want!"

Lelouch flinched.

"You don't want justice or peace! You only want to rule!"

Of course not… It…

"What do you believe in? Do you believe in anything other than fury?!"

I believe...I believe in-

"Lelouch, do you even care?!"

"Of course I care!" He shouted before he could stop himself.

Lelouch cringed. Too loud. Silence hung over the room. Slowly, he stood, heart pounding.

"I... I do care, Suzaku."

Nervously, he stepped out from his hiding place. Both CC and Suzaku were staring at him in shock.

Too late to stop now, he thought grimly.

"Last time…" God, I hope it's how I think it is, "last time, I really did just want revenge." He looked down. "I wanted revenge on Britannia for hurting my sister, but mostly… for hurting me. I was selfish."

"Lelouch…?" Suzaku managed, bewildered.

"I... I was angry." It was all pouring out before he could stop it. "So angry. How could my father just throw us away like that? And I was humiliated. Humiliated that I wasn't worth anything more than any of his other pawns." He took in a deep breath.

"But now...now I know. I know about all the injustice, and I know that it really does affect me. Even if it doesn't, it's always affecting someone. After meeting Kallen, CC, Ohgi, Shirley, Rolo... and you... I began to understand how much it mattered. It wasn't just about my quest for revenge and success… it was about every single one of us."

He paused for a second, searching for the right words.

"But I still didn't change. I kept on doing what I pleased, thinking my actions were without consequence, or that it was all for some higher purpose, a purpose that was only what I wanted. I was so angry that I didn't care. And in my anger... I became exactly like the man I fought to defeat."

He looked up at Suzaku, a fire in his eyes.

"Now I know. Now I understand… I must become a true knight of justice." He smiled suddenly. "Suzaku, that is what I believe."

For a moment, silence fell over them.

Suzaku looked at him in shock. Immediately, Lelouch regretted he had said anything.

Idiot! He cursed himself. Suzaku couldn't have time travelled! What were you thinking!?

"Uhh, Suzaku, I…"

Hesitant footsteps turned into an all-out sprint. Lelouch's eyes widened as the Lancelot pilot ran at him.

"Su-?!"

He was cut off by Suzaku crashing into him, wrapping his arms around him into a fierce hug.

"S...Suzaku?" He managed, stunned.

"Lelouch... it's good to see you."

Lelouch's eyes widened.

"You...you…"

"I'm sorry." Suzaku said. He sounded so choked up. Lelouch felt a pang of regret. For what he made Suzaku go through, for being separated from him, for... Everything. "I'm sorry...I shouldn't have done it. I shouldn't have killed you." Lelouch tensed for a moment. Suddenly, he relaxed.

Lelouch smirked weakly. "Of course you should have. I was the one who told you to."

Suzaku let out a dry laugh.

"Exactly."

Lelouch smiled with exasperation. He wrapped an arm around Suzaku, patting him on the back.

"I'm glad that this meeting doesn't involve you being dead."

Lelouch laughed. "It's good to see you too, Suzaku."

For a moment, they were just glad to be together again, as friends.

Only a moment though.

"Are you two going to make a habit of forgetting I exist? Maybe I should just leave."

Suzaku turned around.

"That dry wit… CC?"

"Bingo. It's almost as if I matter." She probably rolled her eyes, waving a hand. "Oh, no, go ahead and have your beautiful reunion. Leave me out. Fine."

Suzaku grinned. "You too, CC." He walked back and slung an arm around her shoulder.

"It's good to see you."

"Mmhmm. You're damn right it is."

Suzaku blinked, as if suddenly realizing something.

"Wait a second, why are you Zero, CC?"

Lelouch paled.

"Uhh..." He laughed nervously. "I broke my arm in that fight."

"The battle? That was several days ago. With the technology at this day and age, you should be healed by now."

"About that…"

"He broke his arm again." CC deadpanned. Suzaku blinked.

"How?"

"Don't-!"

"He was trying to be dramatic."

Suzaku was silent for a moment. Then he started laughing.

"Shut up." Lelouch murmured. "Just because I'm more fabulous than you…"

"Ha! For a guy who gets all the girls, you're pretty lame. And guys, might I add."

"All the girls? All the guys?" Lelouch asked. "Who?"

It was CC's turn to get embarrassed. Suzaku grinned cheekily at her.

"If you say anything, I will personally see to your assassination, soldier boy."

Suzaku laughed. "He doesn't even get it, it's fine."

"That…" CC sighed angrily.

"Don't worry CC, you're not alone in this. We'll all get through this together."

Lelouch sighed. "I am so confused…"

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**Republished 6/19/16**


	8. Chapter 8: Preparation

**Chapter 8: Preparation**

**A/N: Hey guys! Wow, it's been an awful long time, hasn't it? Haha… ha… *dodges bullets* Anyway, we're incredibly sorry for the wait. We put a similar explanation of the situation in the newly republished 1st chapter, but we'll put one here too for anyone just looking for the most recent chapter. My brother and I went back and re-wrote all of the old chapters - they were a giant mess and I really wanted to fix them. Now they're still a giant mess, just a tiny bit less so (we think). Anyhow, I just want to apologize again, and thank you all so much for your incredible patience with us. It's been over a year - our unexplained absence was really a jerk move on our part. If you want to go back and re-read the old chapters I would suggest it, but you totally don't have to. The story hasn't changed or anything. Hopefully, we should be able to post these with a little bit higher frequency; it's summer break where we are, so we have a bit more free time. Anyway, sorry for the long note - here's the next chapter! Hope it's not totally the worst!**

**DISCLAIMER: WE DO NOT OWN CODE GEASS! At this point I really don't think we need to say that. However, we do share one thing in common with the writers; we're complete messes.**

**WARNING: CHAPTER CONTAINS HINTS OF LELOUCH x SHIRLEY AND KALLEN, IMPLIED SUZAKU x EUPHIE, AND SMOOTH JAZZ**

"Lelouch, riddle me this; how does a nerdy chess player manage to break his arm twice in less than a week?"

Lelouch sighed. "Look, Rivalz, this nerdy chess player's life is more hazardous than you'd think."

The rest of Student Council rolled their eyes, excluding Kallen. They were meeting after school, and the moment Lelouch arrived he was practically attacked by an extremely worried Shirley and Rivalz.

"Oh yeah? How so?!" Rivalz snorted, then immediately changed his voice to an annoying falsetto, clasping his hands and batting his eyelashes. "Wah wah! My life is so hard! I'm rich and play illegal chess games for sport!" He draped himself across his chair dramatically, throwing an arm against his forehead.

"You don't even know." Lelouch muttered under his breath.

"O, woe is me! The life of a tactician is so hard! I might even sprain a wrist from all this gesturing I do!" He mocked. He suddenly reverted to normal. "Y'know, I'm beginning to think you actually broke your arm because of that."

Lelouch turned red. The worst part is, he's right.

"Oh, leave him be, Rivalz!" Shirley snapped, hitting said boy with the school newspaper. "Give Lelouch a rest! He just got back from injury leave!"

"Jeez, come off it!" Rivalz muttered, ducking slightly and rubbing his head in mockery of pain. "Just 'cause you like him doesn't mean he's free of all flaws!"

Shirley blushed furiously stuttering.

"I-I-" Her expression turned furious. "Rivalz!"

Rivalz paled.

"Oh sh-"

Shirley tackled him, knocking over both of their chairs in the process. Kallen jumped to her feet and immediately joined in.

As they rolled around on the ground fighting, Milly turned to Lelouch.

"Well, it's good to have you back!" Milly said cheerfully, purposely ignoring the three rolling around on the floor, two whacking the other with newspapers.

"It's good to be back." He replied with a smile. Milly grinned widely.

"Aww, he's smiling!" She cooed mockingly. Lelouch shot her a glare, which she giggled at.

"W-wasn't it dangerous?" Nina stuttered from her seat. "I mean, with that terrorist guy on the loose…"

Lelouch had to resist glaring at her with distaste, remembering all the times she had scoffed at Suzaku and just been generally racist. That, and of course how she went crazy and nuked everyone.

"Not at all." He said smoothly, ignoring his boiling blood. "Not all Elevens are that bad, you know."

Nina frowned, but ducked her head, more out of shyness than humiliation. Lelouch had to restrain himself from punching her, trying to reason that he would more likely end up with another broken arm than anything.

Milly felt the awkward atmosphere and opted to continue talking anyway.

"So, what're you guys thinking about for the next festivals?" She said, moving from sitting on her chair to the table as Kallen got more creative with their fight's boundaries.

"What do you mean?" Lelouch asked.

"Well, we need to lighten the hearts of the students!" She said, smiling. "Get some happiness in our lives! The cosplaying and crossdressing festivals already are planned, after all!"

Shirley suddenly sat up, dusting off her skirt.

"That's a great idea!" She said with smile. "We need to get the others hyped up!"

Lelouch frowned.

"There was just a terrorist attack, and your method of improving morale is festivals?"

"Of course!" Milly smiled. "What's life without a bit of joy, no matter how silly?"

Kallen stood up, too, leaving a sufficiently beaten Rivalz groaning in pain.

"Milly and Shirley have a point, Lelouch." Kallen said, grinning a little. "You always seem to look at the big picture. You need to learn how to step back and enjoy your life."

Lelouch smiled to himself. "Yeah. I guess so."

Rivalz sat up.

"You're only saying that 'cause you wanna see Lelouch in a cat costume, don't you?"

Simultaneously, Kallen and Shirley jumped him again.

((THIS IS A PAGE BREAK))

Suzaku left the courtroom, his feet taking him along a familiar path. There seemed to be a dark cloud hanging around him, leading people to avoid him like the plague. He was too deep in thought to notice.

What was he going to do about Gino and Anya? They were Knights of the Round, which made them his enemies. He was going to have to fight them.

But they were his friends, even if Gino was kind of annoying and Anya was sometimes a psychopathic dead lady. They didn't know what they were doing. They were under Charles's Geass (and Anya was under Lelouch's mom's). They didn't, no, couldn't understand. It wasn't their fault. He had to say something to Lelouch... He had to make sure that they had the choice that he had and abused.

That got him thinking... What was his excuse? The Emperor was changing Gino and Anya's memories, but he... Well, he just followed. For peace, he had thought. Peace? Was this life really peace? For what's right, he had thought. How could the treatment of the Elevens - Japanese - have ever been right? He had been a fool and a hypocrite, and had almost killed his best friend. How could he redeem himself after-

His train of thought was cut short by a scream. He stopped dead, looking up just in time to see-

His arms reached out automatically, catching the falling girl.

She looked shocked. "Y-you saved me!"

Oh.

How could he forget? How did he forget? She was here and she was alive and what was he going to do and... and...

She smiled brightly at him. "Hi! My name's Euphie! What's yours?"

She didn't know him. What should he do? What should he say? Would it be different this time? Would it be the same? Did he want it to be the same? Should he change history? Would that save her? What if she doesn't like him this time? What if she doesn't fall in love with him? What if he messes it up? What if she dies anyway? What if he can't save her? What if he was to watch her be broken again? What would he do? What could he do? She's here and she's alive and she's new and innocent and happy and different but the same and she's normal and she doesn't know and she doesn't know-

"Mister?" She frowned. Then she was smiling again. "That's okay, you don't have to tell me! You just saved me, after all!" She let herself out of his arms, standing in front of him. "Well, thank you so much!" She turned and started to walk away.

Wait wait wait wait

"Wait."

She blinked, turning around again. "What is it?"

She's alive.

"...Suzaku. Suzaku Kururugi."

For a second, she looked surprised. Then her face broke into a bright grin.

"Oh! It's nice to meet you, Suzaku!"

"I... I can show you around, if you'd like."

She smiled genuinely (so happy, so young). "I would very much like that."

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Lelouch entered the hospital with a dazzling fruit basket, smiling as not-insanely as he could. He recalled what CC had told him when he decided to speak with Jeremiah. After she shot him, he was moved to this hospital. He observed the gaudy and decadent interior design with disapproval. Normally a soldier would have been taken to a military hospital, but apparently being acting governor has its perks after all. As he approached the front desk, the attendant slowly looked up from his magazine.

"What do you want?" the attendant in a slow, seemingly southern drawl. "This ain't the candy store."

Lelouch gritted his teeth, forcing down a sarcastic reply. "I just came down here to bring a get-well fruit basket from the local Purist Youth troop to Mr. Jeremiah Gottwald. Could you please let me through?" He gave the attendant his most charming smile.

The attendant raised an eyebrow. "Oh, one of those guys? I used to be a part of that group, but I kept getting drunk during their meetings, and those stiffs kicked me out. Too bad, too." Just keep smiling, public physical aggression is frowned upon. "Where's your badge?"

"Here you go," he said as pleasantly as he could, showing the attendant a very well forged copy of a Purist Youth identification card. The attendant squinted hard at it, obviously taking his time in checking it. It was definitely on purpose, since Lelouch was beginning to doubt the attendant could actually read. After a few minutes of slow deliberation, he shrugged.

"... fine, he's in room 5-302."

"Thanks!"

Lelouch entered the elevator and pressed the number five. As the elevator began to slowly rise, smooth jazz filled the small room. He scowled.

Smooth jazz is a crime against humanity. When I become emperor, I'm outlawing it. As the elevator reached the designated floor the doors opened and the music stopped.

Lelouch confidently walked down the corridor, scanning the rooms. As it turned out, knowing the room number was unnecessary. After all, the room he was looking for was the only one with two armed guards in front of it.

He approached the door, smiling pleasantly. The soldiers squinted suspiciously.

"What do you want?" Ugly number one said, eyeing his fruit basket like it contained a bomb. Not too far off, Lelouch thought.

"I'm glad you asked!" Lelouch replied cheerily, activating his Geass. "Lelouch vi Britannia commands you, let me into this room and don't let anyone else in. After I leave, forget I was ever here."

The Geass took effect immediately. "Yes, your majesty." They intoned, opening the door and bowing.

"Just what I wanted to hear." Lelouch strode into the door, letting it swing shut behind him. Inside was a TV, a bed, and several miscellaneous pieces of medical equipment. Sitting on the bed was Jeremiah.

The door's slamming alerted the patient of a visitor's presence. He looked up tiredly.

"Look, I don't want any-" He stopped dead as his eyes finally rested on Lelouch. He choked on air, spluttering.

"L-Lelouch?!" He managed.

Lelouch's smirked, striding forward. "Recognize me? Tis I, Lelouch vi Britannia! Back from beyond the grave!"

Jeremiah's eyes were as wide as saucers. "L-Lelouch, I-"

Lelouch waved his hand to silence Jeremiah. "I understand you must be very confused." Jeremiah's eyebrows knit together, but Lelouch continued. "I have returned to seek my revenge on those in the royal family who wronged me so many years ago-"

"-Lelouch-"

"-in the form of the avenging angel, ZERO!" Lelouch pulled his Zero mask out from within his fruit basket, knocking out several fresh oranges in the process. "So I ask, pray tell, what will you do?"

"Lelouch-"

Lelouch swept his hand to the side theatrically. "Will you join me to fight the forces of evil and corruption?" He clutched his hand to his chest. "Or will you-"

"LELOUCH, I'M FROM THE FUTURE TOO."

"- Give in to the - wait, excuse me?"

"I said, I'm from the future too."

Lelouch fell silent.

"...You're from the future too?"

"Yes!"

Lelouch was silent again, the gears in his head turning.

"Wait... Does that mean..."

Jeremiah sighed with exasperation, but there was some fondness in it. "Yes. I'm on your side, Lelouch."

He was from the future as well? Lelouch's mind was reeling. This meant a lot of things. First of all, this would be waay easier than he thought it would be since he wouldn't have to deal with the whole vengeful-psycho-after-his-blood and all that. Second, he could still make a lot of jokes about oranges. Third, there could still be people from the future he didn't know about. That was both terrifying and exciting. After all, what if there was someone who wasn't on his side with experience from the future? Fourth... He was a lot better off than he thought he was.

"In that case," Lelouch said, grinning, "we have much to discuss..."

((THIS IS A PAGE BREAK))

The lines of soldiers waited expectantly, circled around the landing area. She was expected at any minute.

"Hey, brother, aren't you excited?"

The sound of an engine getting closer jolted them to attention. They saluted as the giant aircraft neared, the wind from the propellers shaking the trees below it.

"Hm? About what, Nunnally?"

It neared the clearing. The plane descended onto the landing pad, the propellers coming to a stop. After a few minutes of tense silence, in which the soldiers resisted the urge to shift uncomfortably, the trap door slowly opened with a steady hum.

"Ehhh? Didn't you see it on the news?"

From it descended an imposing woman, striding confidently forward. She was trailed by stoic guards armed to the teeth.

She walked purposefully down the line of trembling soldiers to the senior officer. She stood tall, locking her gaze on him.

"Ma'am." He said as steadily as he could, straightening his posture stiffly.

"See what?"

She nodded in acknowledgment. "Has Jeremiah Gottwald been informed of my arrival?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Good." She turned away from him, causing him to sigh with relief. She began striding down the line again, heading straight towards headquarters.

"Cornelia's arrived!"

"The active governor shot, the battle botched miserably, and ranks of injured soldiers..." Cornelia scoffed. "That fool Kenwall. He'll have hell to pay for his mistake." The soldiers she passed shuddered, glad her fury wasn't directed at them.

"Ehh? Lulu, why are you so quiet? Aren't you happy?"

"So those fools can't stop out even a silly little terrorist group, eh?" She laughed, coming to a stop at the end of the line. She looked down the pathway to the looming entrance to the HQ.

"Ah, don't worry, Nunnally. I'm happy."

"Burn the nest and then let the wasps die, I say." She said, smirking. "Just you wait, 'Zero'."

"Very happy."

"I'm coming for you."

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OMAKE 1:

(this was a bizarre first draft of the hospital scene that we wrote around 1 am. I am so so sorry)

As Lelouch entered the hospital with what seemed to be a dazzling fruit basket, it was all he could do to keep from breaking out in maniacal laughter. After CC shot Jeremiah he was moved to this hospital. He looked disdainfully at a gaudy chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Normally a soldier would have been taken to a military hospital, but apparently being acting governor does have its perks after all. As he approached the front desk the attendant slowly looked up from his magazine.

"What do you want?" the attendant in a slow, seemingly southern drawl "This ain't the candy store."

Insolent knave! I shall make you rue the day you were born! "I just came down here to bring a get well fruit basket from the local Purist Youth troop. could you please let me through?" he gave the attendant his most charming smile. "Here is my badge!" he said, showing the attendant a very well forged copy of a Purist Youth identification card.

"... fine, he's in room 5-302."

"Thanks!" Thats right scum, bow before me! Kneel or I shall bring the puny existence you call your life crashing down around your ears! MUWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHA!

Lelouch calmly entered the elevator and pressed the number five. As the doors slowly clicked shut on could almost make out the hints of a smile on his face.

As the elevator began to slowly rise, smooth jazz filled the small room.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Anything but smooth jazz! When I become ruler of the world I will have to be sure to make playing it in confined spaces a crime against humanity. As the elevator reached the designated floor the doors opened and the music stopped. Finally! My ordeal is over! The bards shall sing of this day for generations to come - the day Emperor-of-the-World Lelouch listened to the evil elevator music for five whole floors and lived to tell the tale.

Lelouch confidently walked down the corridor until stopping in front of the one door with guards in front of it.

"What do you want?" Ugly number one said.

"I'm glad you asked!" Lelouch replied, activating his Geass.

((THIS IS A PAGE BREAK))

OMAKE 2:

The attendant at the desk broke into a smile at the sight of the magically gleaming fruit basket.

"Oo! Are those oranges?! My favorite!" Without warning, he grabbed one of the fruits, revealing the Zero mask right underneath it.

Whelp, there goes all my plans for world domination, Lelouch thought as a S.W.A.T team descended from the ceiling instantaneously.

((THIS IS A PAGE BREAK))

**Published 6/19/16**


	9. Chapter 9: Revise

**Chapter 9: Revise**

**A/N: Hey guys! Thank you once again for your patience with us and your lovely reviews! We're going to be one vacation for a little while, so we decided to update this before we left! We'll keep working on it over the break though, and hopefully will upload another chapter fairly soon. Once again, thanks!**

**This chapter unfortunately doesn't have a lot of action - we're currently teeing up for the next battle. We hope it's not incredibly boring.**

**Also, just so you know - we have another side pairing in this fanfiction that doesn't really appear in the show. It's really not that important, we just thought it would be a ton of fun. If you don't like it, feel free to tell us - it's mostly a bit of a plot device and a fun way to have Suzaku have a mental breakdown (hee hee). Both of the characters are still paired with Lelouch in a way - it's complicated. Anyway, their romance is kind of a parody of romance stories so it's gonna get ****_very weird_****. I apologize in advance.**

**DISCLAIMER: We do not own Code Geass! If we did... Well, ****_this_**** madness would happen. We're very sorry. Also, we don't own IHOP. Alas.**

**WARNINGS: This chapter contains mild swearing, Kallen's violent tendencies, pancakes, sparkles, Suzaku's continued mental deterioration, and Lloyd**

Lelouch steepled his fingers, his mouth twisting into a knowing smirk. "You probably all are wondering why I've gathered you here today."

Kallen scowled. "Actually, I was just wondering why we're in an iHOP."

Lelouch, Kallen, Suzaku, Ohgi, and CC indeed were sitting in a rather large booth in a completely empty IHOP. The lights were all off, except for the one hanging over their table, bathing them in ominous light. The shades were all shut, too.

"Pancakes are a good source of carbohydrates," Lelouch said defensively, scooping copious amounts of sugar into his tea. CC raised an eyebrow, but continued draining her soda.

Suzaku let out an exasperated sigh. The whole day had been sort of weird - luckily, his induction to the student council this time hadn't involved any strange cat hijinx. Still, he was surprised to say the least when Lelouch had invited him to come here right after school. "Lelouch, just tell us what this is all about! Also, an iHOP is hardly a safe place to disclose our _practically_ _terrorist plans_."

Lelouch took on that confident smirk again that made certain violent people in the vicinity (cough cough Kallen) want to deck him. "Au contraire, my chestnut-haired and jade-eyed friend."

"That's a new one."

"I have Geassed all of the wait staff to follow my every order. I had them close down the restaurant and establish the proper mood lighting to tell my genius plans." Lelouch leaned back in his seat, looking very pleased with himself. "Also, I ordered 50 pancakes." Then, as an afterthought, "you guys can order some too."

"Oo, do they have blueberry pancakes?!" Ohgi said excitedly, opening his menu. Kallen smacked him.

"Ohgi! Focus! Besides, everyone knows chocolate chip pancakes are the only acceptable pancakes!"

"Guys, _please_!" Suzaku cut in. He turned to Lelouch again. "So _why _did you call us all here?"

Lelouch cleared his throat, immediately switching into commander mode. "As you probably are aware, Cornelia has arrived."

The table fell into silence, each person with a different amount of grimness in their expression. Lelouch almost sighed. What a mood killer.

"What's our plan?" Ohgi asked. "If I'm remembering right, things didn't exactly work out last time."

Lelouch cringed. Poorly planned, poorly manned, poorly executed. He shuddered to think. If it hadn't been for CC, well… It was better not to think about it.

"This time, I'm going to contact the Yamato Alliance beforehand," Lelouch declared, pushing his thoughts to the back of mind. "We'll get everyone on the same page. If I have a firm command over them, my plan will go over smoothly."

Ohgi nodded thoughtfully. "Makes sense… But what plan?"

Lelouch smirked (again). "I was hoping you'd ask."

With a dramatic flourish, Lelouch pulled out a gigantic battle map of the Saitama Ghetto, spreading it out on the table.

"What the hell," Kallen deadpanned.

"Here," Lelouch said, ignoring Kallen and indicating a far end of the map. "This is where Cornelia will arrive." He put down a pepper pack. "And here," he indicated the center of the map, "is where our future besties, the Yamato Alliance, will start the battle." He dropped about twelve sugar packets there. "I'm going to need a lot more condiments." After Ohgi and Kallen raided every table in the fine establishment of all of their spices, Lelouch began again.

"Cornelia will start from the outside and work her way in," Lelouch said, dropping salt packet all around the outside of the ghetto. "With the support of our allies, and by using some simple maneuvers, we should be able to beat her back. We have the superior defensive position, and Cornelia will underestimate us."

He started picking salt packets off of the map, tossing them to the side. Kallen nodded.

"Makes sense," she said. "It's a wonder you failed so bad last time." Lelouch scowled at her.

"Hey, that wasn't my fault!" He defended. Then paused. "Well, not entirely. But that's beside the point."

He spread out the sugar packets into a defensive ring. "Once we've established our position, we lure her in." He removed a packet, leaving a hole in the ring. Kallen frowned.

"But that'll give her a direct shot to the base!" She protested. Lelouch grinned.

"That's where we've got her," he said. "With a few well placed shots, this building will come crashing down, boxing her in." He broke open one of the discarded salt packets, pouring a short line on the street and blocking entry. "She'll be so angry with her losses against a small group that she'll charge in herself and won't think of the possibility we'd use the terrain against her. Once we've done that, we'll send in part of the defensive line to corner her. She'll be surrounded."

The group traded startled looks. That easy? It seemed too good to be true. Even CC was slurping her soda in a slightly bemused fashion.

"That's perfect!" Ohgi said with a grin. "Then we'll take her out!"

Lelouch hesitated. "Well…"

"Oh no," Kallen said, standing. "Oh no no _no._ You are _not _going to ruin this for us!"

"Then… Then we have them call in the Lancelot."

Kallen and Ohgi simultaneously let out huge groans. Ohgi threw his arms up. Kallen started slamming her head on the table. CC even shot him a half confused, half murderous look as she stole his soda. Suzaku looked a little sheepish, but still spoke up.

"First off, why? Second off, _how_?"

Lelouch grimaced slightly. "To your first question, because we have no use for Cornelia just yet." Kallen got that look on her face when she was about to suggest something incredibly violent, so Lelouch spoke faster. "She doesn't have any information we don't have. Besides, if we captured her, it would be full-out war. We don't have anywhere near the amount of support we would need if the Emperor actually tried to kill us at this point."

Both Ohgi and Kallen both looked like they wanted to kill him but couldn't justify why just yet, so he figured he should continue.

"And to your second question - I have a man on the inside."

"Who?" Kallen snorted. "All of the Britannians want you dead."

Lelouch smiled mysteriously. "All but one."

"Stop being purposefully vague and just tell us," CC deadpanned. Lelouch scowled at her.

"Fine, fine! Ruin all my fun. See if I care." He did care. "It's Jeremiah."

Dead silence.

"No, really," Suzaku said after a moment.

"Really!" Lelouch said. "He's on our side."

"Your little meeting worked?" CC said. "I thought he was going to go ballistic."

"Yeah," Ohgi agreed, "that was kind of a reckless move."

"Oh, well, about that." Lelouch scratched the back of his head. "He time-traveled too."

There was a split second of stunned silence before Kallen threw her fork at him.

"JESUS, LELOUCH! WHEN DID YOU THINK YOU WERE GOING TO TELL US THIS?!" She practically screamed. Lelouch managed to duck out of the way of the utensil just in time.

"H-hey, I told you, alright?" He protested weakly, partially hiding behind Suzaku. The Lancelot pilot scowled at him.

"Lelouch! This is something you bring up at the _start _of a conversation!" He scolded. Lelouch shrunk away from him as well.

"I forgot?" He tried. Kallen threw Ohgi's fork at him this time, and he ducked under the table.

"Jesus," Kallen grumbled, pinching the bridge of her nose. It was so like him to forget to mention a vital detail until the last second. She frowned to herself at the wave of nostalgia, pushing it down. Not now.

Ohgi shook his head with bewilderment, half at the new information, and half at the fact the leader of the entire uprising of Japan was currently hiding under a table at IHOP, probably jacked up on sugar and tea.

"This opens a whole new world of questions," he said tiredly. The table fell into contemplative silence as the same thoughts resounded. Who else could have gone back in time? As they wondered, Lelouch climbed back up into his seat.

"Right," he said, brushing off his uniform casually. "Back to the plan. I'll contact Jeremiah and have him bring along the Lancelot on the mission. It shouldn't be too hard for him to figure out, considering he's in charge of the Purists. Sounds good?"

The people around the table nodded mildly, still looking a bit miffed at Lelouch's lack of forthcoming. _Well, it's still an improvement,_ Kallen mused grudgingly. She doubted if Lelouch last time would have even bothered letting them know the plan before carrying through. She found herself looking at Lelouch rather hard. It was a good change, she admitted. She liked… _this _Lelouch better. Somehow, even though his face was the same as it had always been, it seemed… More open. More trusting. She couldn't see that edge of paranoia any longer. It was… Nice.

She hadn't even realized she was staring until she caught CC looking dead at her. She started slightly, glancing at the green-haired girl and sheepishly hoping no one else had noticed. Somehow, despite having almost no emotion, her expression was terrifying. She shivered before turning her attention back to Lelouch.

"So, in conclusion," he was intoning melodramatically, "Cornelia attacks. We hold her off. We lure her in, she gets caught, Jeremiah orders the Lancelot in to save her. Suzaku saves the day (while avoiding actually killing our pilots) and Cornelia gets away. We have few losses, a new group of allies, and both Jeremiah and Suzaku have gained Cornelia's grudging respect." He paused. "Alright?"

The rest of the table glanced at one another, as if expecting someone to protest. No one did.

It took a moment for both Ohgi and Suzaku to place the strange atmosphere they adopted as incredulity. Right. Lelouch hadn't really asked for their opinions last time around. They both almost simultaneously found themselves coming to the same conclusion that Kallen had just moments before - Lelouch really _had _changed.

Lelouch was very confused as to why everyone (excluding CC, of course, who was busy drinking his soda) at the table was staring at him so intensely. He cleared his throat awkwardly. Thankfully, the waiter had finally arrived at their table to break the awkward silence, pushing a cart completely covered in mountains of food.

"So, who wants pancakes?"

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Suzaku jogged to the gates of Ashford Academy, scowling to himself. After Lelouch had revealed his plan to them and they had all gorged themselves on stacks of pancakes, Suzaku had asked Lelouch what he was supposed to do until the battle came around. He was already feeling anxious about it, and all of this sitting around and planning was doing a number on his nerves. Lelouch had just flippantly waved his arms, telling him to do his homework like a normal person. It was at that moment that Suzaku remembered he had left his bag in the student council room after school.

_Part of a terrorist uprising, pilot of one of the most powerful Knightmares in all of human history, one of the Knights of the Round, and I forgot my bag at school? _He grimaced. Sometimes he forgot what it was like to have normal problems, like _did I brush my teeth _or _did I leave the stove on _and not _am I going to get brutally murdered in battle and then burn in hell for all of eternity_.

He pulled at the front door, surprised to find it unlocked. He had almost thought he was going to have to ninja his way through a window - that probably wouldn't go over very well. As he wandered through the halls, he found his mind straying back to Lelouch's surprise rendezvous at IHOP. As a member of the military, he had never really _hung out _with friends at a food place before and joked around, even if they were actually talking about their terrorist plans. It had felt so _natural_. It had been… Well, fun. Being friends with Lelouch and kind of (and very hostile) friends with Kallen, none of their get-togethers had ever been very relaxed - something always seemed to come up. But this time, they had all teased and argued and joked like _normal teenagers _\- even if one of them was a centuries-old witch lady and one of them was probably like thirty, and even though they were _still definitely talking about their terrorist plans_.

He was so preoccupied in his thoughts, he actually jumped when he saw Milly in the student council room.

"Milly?" He blinked. She looked up from some papers spread on the table, seeming a bit under the weather.

"Oh hey, Suzaku," she greeted, her cheerful reply lacking its usual exuberance. He frowned.

"Milly, is something wrong?"

"What? Oh, no, it's nothing." She smiled, but still looked worried. "Just got some bad news is all."

"Well, lay it on me!" Suzaku said, sitting down next to her. It dawned on him in the back of his head that Milly barely knew him in this world, having been inducted into the student council just that day, but Milly had always been a nice to him. It was only fair he should listen to her problems as well.

Milly seemed to consider it for a long second before letting out a heavy sigh, smiling slightly. "Alright. Don't think too much less of me though."

She looked a bit uncomfortable at confiding in a stranger, but she started talking anyway. "Well, I got a call after the student council meeting today from my mother. She said… Well, she said that she was marrying be away to some _earl_." She shook her head. "It's _ridiculous_. I'm only in high school! Yet she acts like the clock is ticking or something, while…" She cut herself off, smiling sheepishly as Suzaku. "Sorry. I just don't like the idea of love being forced, you know?"

"No, no, it's perfectly fine!" Suzaku assured with what he hoped was an encouraging smile. "I understand. That sounds really rough."

Milly let out a tired laugh. "Yeah." She shook her head. "Well, maybe I'm just being melodramatic. There's no point in condemning myself before I've even met the man, right?" She forced a smile. "It'll be fine. Well, thank you for listening to my whining."

"Hey, anytime. You're not being melodramatic - this really is an awful situation to be in." Suzaku paused. "I… I wish I could be of more help."

"No, not at all! Really, I can't just go through life hoping for a magic cure for everything." Milly stood up, giving him a smile. "Honestly, I'm just glad to have it off my chest."

Suzaku walked her back to the front door after they locked up the student council room. They chatted idly as they made their way back to the door. Once they reached the entryway, she excused herself to go grab her bag from her locker. Suzaku faintly wondered if it was just a common theme to leave your bag somewhere at a very convenient time as he awkwardly tried to decide between leaving and waiting for Milly. Luckily (or perhaps not) for him, someone appeared just in time to interrupt his pondering.

"Helloooooo?" A very, very familiar voice called from outside the door. "Is anybody hooome?" Suzaku froze.

"Dear god no," he whispered.

The front door was swung wide open with the painful flamboyance only one man other than Lelouch could pull off.

"Lloyd," Suzaku growled.

Sure enough, the scientist was at _a high school _at about _six o'clock _like some sort of creep. Of course, he strolled through the place like he owned it, and not like he definitely could get arrested for being here.

"Oh, hello, private Kururugi," he greeted cheerfully. Then he giggled. "Oh, I suppose I should call you _warrant officer _Kururugi now." Suzaku blinked.

"What?"

"I forgot to tell you - you've just been promoted! And by the governor herself!" He clasped his hands together. "Isn't that wonderful?"

"... Uh… Yes…" Suzaku was so caught off guard by the man's presence he didn't even really think about what he had said. "Er, Lloyd, did you come all the way here to tell me that?"

"What? Oh, no, don't be silly." Lloyd grinned. "I've come here looking for my fianceé!"

Suzaku almost fell over.

"Suzaku? Is something going on?" He heard Milly call.

Holy shit. He had completely forgotten. _Lloyd was engaged to Milly. _Wow. He felt like an ass.

"Miss Ashford? Is that you?"

Suzaku just watched in muted horror as Milly came around the corner, a look of confusion on her face.

"Suzaku? Who is this?"

Lloyd turned to her, a charming smile (_what_) on his face.

"Miss Ashford, I am Lloyd Asplund, you fiancé." He bowed as eccentrically as reality would allow without causing a black hole and the end of all humanity. "I'm here to take you on a date."

Milly actually looked as shocked as Suzaku felt.

"I… I…" She looked incredibly dumbfounded. "... What?" She looked at Suzaku as if to check if this was real.

"What do you say?" He offered his hand to her. Suzaku wasn't sure what he was watching. He was pretty sure he had just died and was now in purgatory.

And Milly, _Jesus Christ, _actually gave a charmed smile, reaching out her right hand.

"Well, what do I say?" She said playfully. _She was enjoying it._

"Say yes," he said smoothly, like he had just waltzed right out of some ridiculous romance novel. Suzaku was pretty sure he was going to pass out.

And, like some harlequin fantasy, Lloyd and Milly walked - no, _glided _\- towards the door, still staring into one another's eyes deeply. On cue, two guards held open the double doors, revealing an _eight horse carriage_ right in front of the school. Suzaku watched, transfixed, as Lloyd and Milly waltzed across the floor in perfect harmony towards their ride. He could have sworn there were sparkles shimmering through the air as they moved together. Somehow, the moon had settled exactly behind the carriage, leaving a perfectly romantic silhouette. When they reached their ride, Lloyd produced a single white rose - Milly accepted it graciously, a playful smile on her face.

"My lady," he said extravagantly, holding out a hand to help her into her seat.

"Why thank you, sir," she replied coyly. They sat down beside each other, arms laced, chatting idly as they rode into the moonlight. The stars in the sky shone brighter than ever, but Lloyd would have said they paled in comparison to the sparkle of her eyes. The birds sang in joy, but Milly would have said all of their songs would never compare to the sound of Lloyd's laugh.

_Well, this is the weirdest fever dream I've ever had, _Suzaku thought. _I think I'm going to go sleep for a few months._

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**Published 7/1/16**


	10. Chapter 10: Incite

**Chapter 10: Incite**

**A/N: Hey! We're back from our vacation - sorry for the wait! There are a couple of things regarding the last chapter and the plot that we have to address.**

**Okay... So, a couple of chapters back we asked the readers if they cared if we paired together Milly and Rivalz or not, and no one really responded. We honestly didn't expect the reaction we got for the pairing of Milly and Lloyd - we're sorry! Retrospectively, we probably should have guessed it would happen. However, Milly and Lloyd's relationship actually has a function in the plot. Hopefully it's not terrible - we're trying to make it entertaining/an overly cliché romance, but there's a reason for it. If you _really_ want, we can have Rivalz and Milly end up together, but for our purposes, we kind of need Lloyd and Milly together for now... We're sorry if it's awful, and we hope we can make it up to you! Please leave any thoughts you have about it in the comments so we have a good idea of what direction to go.**

**WARNINGS: Mild swearing, Kallen being aggressive, Tamaki needs to shut up, OCs (we're so sorry), Lloyd being a pretentious weirdo, feelings ew, Suzaku says there's no homo (but everyone's pretty sure there's homo), also he's having a mental breakdown (courtesy of Lloyd of course), Shirley is head over heels**

"How is he not dirty? We're walking through the sewers!"

Ohgi glanced over Kallen. She was glaring at Lelouch (as usual), and the fact she was holding a gun was not making Ohgi any more reassured of their safety. Their resistance forces were following after Zero, guns in hands. Their leader strode with cape billowing ahead of them, pretending not to have heard her comment.

Ohgi shrugged. "I've learned not to question it."

Tamaki made an indignant noise as he stepped in something unpleasant. "Why do we have to crawl through these sewers like some damn thieves anyway?!"

"It's best if no one sees us," Ohgi said apologetically. "It's better to feel sick than get shot."

"Plus, if someone saw a lunatic walking around in a Zero mask in broad daylight, I doubt they'd let us off with a stern warning," Kallen snorted.

Tamaki grumbled, clearly still not happy. Eventually, he spoke up again. "How did Zero know where the Yamato Alliance base was anyway? I thought it was kept secret."

Ohgi and Kallen immediately stiffened. _Because we're from the future and we've been there _was definitely not the right response.

"We're here," Zero announced quickly. He turned back to the freedom fighters. "We all know the plan, correct?"

"Bust in, look threatening?" Kallen said dryly.

"Exactly." Lelouch smirked. "And try not to kill anyone. Once we get in, we dazzle them a bit and then start negotiations. After we become allies, it will make the upcoming attack from Cornelia a breeze." Lelouch had debriefed them on the attack somewhat, claiming he had a source on the inside (which he did). "Let's move."

With some effort, Zero's resistance managed to pull themselves up into an empty room. Immediately, the freedom fighters began cleaning themselves off.

"Why do we get everywhere by sewer?" Tamaki complained yet again. "Why can't we ever transport anywhere by luxury jet?"

"Shut up," Kallen said.

Zero shook his head. "We're supposed to be an army. You've killed people. How can a little dirt disturb you?"

"Says the one who screamed when he saw a fly yesterday," Ohgi grumbled to himself.

After rearranging themselves, the freedom fighters aligned at the door with Kallen at the front. After a series of complex hand-signals that looked more like the Macarena than anything else to Lelouch, the pre-Black Knights busted through the door.

Just as Lelouch had planned, the Yamato Alliance was in the middle of a meeting. At the loud noise, the members jumped to their feet. One was even fast enough to draw his weapon, but froze when he saw how outgunned they were. At the end of the table sat a thoroughly shocked man, probably in his mid thirties. Lelouch assumed from his position he was the leader - he hadn't met him last time around; he had presumably run off at the beginning of their first battle with Cornelia.

"Greetings, friends," Lelouch smirked.

"W-who - ?!" The man at the end of the table spluttered. The one with his gun out narrowed his eyes.

"You're that guy who was on TV the other day!" He exclaimed. He turned to Ohgi, clearly recognizing him as well. "What are _you _doing with _him_?"

The members of the Yamato Alliance looked torn between terrified and awed. Some started mumbling uneasily. Ohgi shrugged with a grin.

"We're partners."

The murmuring really broke out now. The man at the end cleared his throat, looking very pale.

"W-what do you want from us?"

"Are you the leader?" Zero called. The man nodded shakily.

"Y-yes. Yoshimura Ieyasu."

"Well, Yoshimura," Zero said, "I don't suppose you'd like to strike up a deal?"

The one with the gun cut in again. "A deal? What kind of deal?"

Zero turned to him. "And your name?"

"Kurosaki." He said shortly.

"To put it bluntly, Kurosaki," Zero said, "your territory is going to get attacked."

Yoshimura turned stark white. "H-how could you possibly know that?!" He demanded. "Are you planning to take us out?"

The murmuring started up again, but Zero waved his arm. An immediate hush fell.

"Why would I tell you if that were the case?" He asked dryly. "I'm not here to threaten you. I'm here to offer my assistance, it's Cornelia you need to worry about." A steady buzz of disbelief started up again.

"How do you know?" Kurosaki demanded.

"I have my ways."

Yoshimura scowled. "How could you possibly -"

"You saw what I did for Suzaku Kururugi." Zero cut him off. "I outwitted Britannia once. I can do it again."

Dead silence. Lelouch smirked. He had them now.

"Why should we believe you?" Kurosaki asked.

"Why would I lie to you?" Lelouch said as pleasantly as he could.

Kurosaki scowled. "I can think of several reasons."

"Cornelia is attacking you to lure me out," Zero said bluntly. "What she doesn't suspect is that I found out about her plot, and that the hunter will soon become… The prey."

The Yamato Alliance stood in silent awe. Kallen rolled her eyes.

"T-then why are you helping us?" Yoshimura said suspiciously. "What do you get out of this?"

Lelouch smiled charmingly behind the mask. "The pleasure of your good company." He paused. "And guns. Lots of guns."

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The things Suzaku had seen could not be unseen.

Sparkles… Roses… Flowers… An enchanting moonlit romance… _They were in a psychological thriller drama, dammit, not some cheesy Shoujou! _

Well, Euphie did have pink hair… But that was besides the point! He began slamming his head into the desk - lovely material, mahogany - wishing the glimpse of Lloyd and Milly's magical romance would purge itself from his mind.

"Rough night, warrant officer Kururugi?"

Suzaku was an inch away from screaming at the sudden jovial voice of a certain earl, but it _was _his evil laboratory, so that would hardly be fair.

"You have no idea," he said, mostly to the desk.

"Well, you see, I can't say the same about my own time," Lloyd said, smiling into the distance introspectively. "You see, nothing can enchant one's life more than the company of a like-minded individual for even just a moment." He breathed in deeply. "My travels over time have taught me the value of love - previously I had devalued it, perhaps, but now - now I see the joy that it brings."

Suzaku internally screamed.

"Have you met anyone, Suzaku?"

_No, I've never met _anyone _literally in my entire life. Who are you?_ Suzaku thought dryly. "I'm not sure what you mean."

"Romantically, of course!" He said with a grin. He leaned his chin on his hand with exaggerated interest like the cartoon character he basically was. "Do tell!"

Suzaku paused. His mind was immediately filled with glimpses of long hair and purple eyes. Damn, he was beginning to sound like Lloyd. He let out a sigh.

"I suppose so."

"Oo!" Lloyd smiled his usual, slightly deranged smile. "Go on!"

God, was he really about to spill his soul to this white-haired sociopath (or not, according to his bizarre speech)? He really _was_ becoming morally bankrupt. He let out another sigh. Oh, what was the point? He might as well.

"She's thoughtful," he said lamely. "She's clever, but can be so naïve. Charming in her own way, but she can be clueless about strange things." He smiled fondly. "I've known her for a while, actually, but each time I see her it's like the first time. She's always surprising me with her new fantastic plans and ideas. I always end up having an adventure when I'm with her… Yet somehow, I think I like more than anything just spending time with her like everything's normal again."

He fell into thoughtful silence. Maybe sharing with Lloyd wasn't so bad.

"Well that was incredibly bland!" Lloyd announced brightly. Suzaku felt a headache coming on. Of course.

"Besides, you don't have to pretend for me," Lloyd said knowingly. He glanced around conspiratorially, then leaned in to whisper into Suzaku's ear. The pilot was curious despite himself.

"I know that it's a 'he'," Lloyd winked. "It's that dark haired fellow, isn't it? Milly showed me the new student council picture and you two looked rather close. Don't worry, I don't judge!"

Suzaku suddenly became aware everything he said could have been applied to either Euphie or Lelouch. He began slamming his head into the table again.

"Ah, lovely material, mahogany," Lloyd said brightly, giving the desk a fond pat before strolling away.

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Lelouch sneezed.

"Oh dear, brother, are you alright?" Nunnally said, concerned. They were sitting around their dining table, folding paper cranes again. CC had deigned to join them (reverting almost habitually back to her claim to be Lelouch's wife upon arriving, much to Nunnally's amusement and his horror). She was making a valiant effort, but she wasn't fairing much better than Lelouch (who had managed to make a paper airplane instead). Sayoko had decided to join them, but kept eyeing CC suspiciously.

"Ah, I'm fine, Nunnally," Lelouch said as kindly he could. It must not have been very convincing, as Nunnally frowned.

"Are you sure, brother?" She said. "You're not sick?"

_In the head_, CC thought at him. Lelouch shot her a dark look.

"I'm completely fine, Nunnally," he assured her. "Why? Is something the matter?"

Nunnally looked down. "I don't know. It's just… You've been acting… Differently, lately."

Lelouch frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You've been… I don't know…" She shifted her weight uncertainly. "You've just been… More thoughtful, I guess. Not that that's a bad thing, of course! It's just… Strange. You're always so busy, but you've been spending more time with us."

Lelouch had to repress a sigh. How messed up had his life been if him being kind was strange enough to rouse concern?

"Nunnally," he said quietly, "things are changing. The world is changing, hopefully for the better. The truth is, I won't be around very much soon." He grimaced slightly at the memory of pushing away those closest to him without explanation. "I want to spend as much time as I can with you before that. I really care about you, Nunnally, and I want to make sure that you know that."

Nunnally smiled. "Brother, of _course _I know that. How could I not?"

"I know, I know," he frowned, "but I haven't been nearly present enough in this house the past few years. I've always acted like I was too busy to be around you two, but I can never be too busy for family." He straightened slightly. "My actions have been unacceptable. If you find it at all possible… Could you forgive me?"

Nunnally giggled. "Brother, you don't need to ask for forgiveness! You haven't done anything wrong! What's gotten into you?"

Lelouch barely held back a dry laugh. _Nothing wrong._ What a thought. If only he could be the person that Nunnally thought he was. Maybe then everything wouldn't have gone to hell like it did.

"Oh, nothing, Nunnally. Just remembering." He smiled. "Thank you."

_How sweet,_ CC thought dryly.

_Oh, quiet, you,_ Lelouch shot back.

With that touching moment over, the doorbell rang. Sayoko stood immediately.

"I'll get it, Sir and Miss," she said. As she speed-walked away, Lelouch frowned.

"Who could it be at this hour?"

Within a few seconds, Sayoko had returned.

"It's Miss Fenette." She said with a shallow bow. "She's asking for Mister Lelouch."

Lelouch blinked. "Oh?"

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Jeremiah leaned back in his chair thoughtfully. It was strange being back in his old office after all this time. Last time he had taken the fall, and hard, for his actions in the Zero crisis. He had been so ready for it to happen again - so ready for… He shuddered inwardly. He didn't want to think about it.

He heard a knock at the door. He grimaced - now wasn't the time for misplaced angst. He was a professional, dammit, not some hormonal teenager, and he wouldn't let anything take him by surprise anymore. Working with Lelouch, he should know that. He shoved down any further conflicted feelings, calling "come in".

To his slight surprise, Villetta entered. She bowed.

"Sir -" she began. Immediately, Jeremiah cut her off.

"Please, Villetta," he said, "we've known each other for too long for you to call me that."

She managed a smile, but it was clear she was still troubled. "Jeremiah, then," she said. "Look, there's something that's been weighing on my mind lately… It's about Kenwall."

The immediately tension that followed that statement was palpable. Jeremiah barely repressed a sigh. Kenwall had taken the fall instead of him - he had almost forgotten. His old comrade quickly was falling down a familiar path; one he had gone down himself. He had no strong affection for Kenwall, but he had known him for years. He couldn't help but feel some sympathy; he knew better than anyone what he was going through.

"I heard he's been demoted," Jeremiah offered. Villetta nodded.

"Yes. But more than that. He's… Well, he's become more reckless. He's been looking quite ill, actually. I don't think he's sleeping right. He seems so angry all the time." She looked down, clearly uncomfortable. "His reputation is ruined, and he's taking it quite hard."

Jeremiah let out a long sigh, leaning back in his chair. He briefly entertained the idea that Kenwall and Villetta had had the same conversation about him. He pushed away the thought, determined not to think about the past anymore. He was beyond all that now.

"What would you have me do?" He said. Villetta grimaced.

"Talk to him," she said simply. "Everyone's turned their back on him. I've tried contacting him, but he just ignored me. I think he might listen to you."

Jeremiah seriously doubted that, but wasn't about to say that to Villetta's face. He knew full well what Kenwall was experiencing right now. He hadn't been in any mood to sit down and have a chat about his actions, and he doubted someone as quick to fury as Kenwall would want to either. In fact, it would likely embitter him further.

However, he nodded. "I'll see what I can do," he said. The relieved look on Villetta's face was enough to let him know he had responded correctly. She bowed once more and backed out of the room.

The door had barely shut behind her when a courier burst into the room.

"S-sir!" They practically gasped, clearly out of breath. Jeremiah jumped to his feet.

"What is it? What's wrong?" He demanded. The courier took a few more gasps - he must have run all the way there - before he thrust Jeremiah a small pile of papers.

"R-report for you sir!" He managed between pants, bent over with fatigue. Jeremiah took it, startled.

"What is this?"

"They a-say it's a-an informant, sir," the man wheezed. "I'm sorry, can I take a breather?"

"What on?" He demanded.

"Z-Zero, sir!"

Jeremiah's eye widened. As the man before him all but collapsed, he began skimming the report. Damn - it was true. This report contained an exact version of the plan Lelouch was going to use against Cornelia when she arrived. How could this happen? He read through the report again.

The informant claimed to be the leader of the Yamato Alliance, Yoshimura Ieyasu. He had pleaded to trade the information for protection during the upcoming battle. He narrowed his eyes. A mole. Pathetic.

"S-sir? Are you going to pass this on?" The man said breathlessly from the floor.

"No," Jeremiah said sternly. "It must be a false report."

"S-sir?"

"Are you telling me you're going to believe some shmuck off the street who claims he's the leader of the Yamato Alliance?" He forced a laugh. "You must be joking. We've gotten so many prank calls from people claiming to be Zero that I could paper my walls with the reports." He crumpled up the page, dropping it in the trash. "Be more careful next time."

The courier, looking appropriately cowed and somewhat humiliated, back out of the room with a mumbled apology. Jeremiah immediately dropped back into his seat. Damn. Snitches already? Thank goodness the report had come to him first, or they would have been in real trouble.

He needed to call Lelouch.

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"Thanks for the notes, Shirley!" Lelouch said with a winning smile as he took the notebook from his classmate. "I owe you!"

Shirley blushed. "I-it's really nothing, Lelouch."

"Nonsense!" He waved a hand. "You came here during the evening just to help out a classmate in need! That's nothing if not selfless."

"I'm sure you would have done the same for me!" She smiled. "You've been missing quite a lot lately, actually. Have you been sick?"

_Actually, I'm the leader of a terrorist organization. _"Oh, just a little bit. I'm feeling quite a bit better now."

"A-ah, that's good."

"Honestly, Shirley, thank you," he said again. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

Shirley turned red again. "A-actually, I was hoping to talk to you about something else, too..."

Lelouch blinked. "Oh? What is it?"

"Y-you see, I… You've always been so kind to me, and… And…" She trailed off, her face darkening.

"And…?" Lelouch said.

"And… And the truth is, I… I really like you, Lelouch!"

"Oh." Lelouch smiled. "I like you too, Shirley!"

"N-no! Well, yes, but I mean - " She cut herself off again, darkening further by the second. Lelouch furrowed his brow.

"Shirley, are you feeling okay?" He asked, concerned. Shirley looked about ready to combust into flames, working herself into a nervous frenzy.

"Y-yes, it's just that - that I really like you, and I - !" She cried.

At that moment, Lelouch's cell went off.

"Oh, sorry, can I get this, Shirley?" He said. She let out a long, keening noise, so he took the call. As he turned, he could have sworn he heard a thump behind him.

"Lelouch Lamperouge, how may I help you?"

"Sir, it's me, Jeremiah."

Immediately, Lelouch was all business. He lowered his voice. "Jeremiah? What is it?"

"It's the leader of the Yamato Alliance, sir. He's tried to rat you out for protection."

Lelouch cursed inwardly. "I should have predicted this," he muttered, running a hand through his hair. The attack was tomorrow! What timing…

"Did you block the report?"

"Yes, sir. I also made sure it hadn't been spread to anyone else. You should be safe."

"I'll need a recording of the call and report," Lelouch said. "Can you do that?"

"Yes, sir."

Lelouch let out a breath. "Thank you, Jeremiah. I'm glad I can rely on you."

"Just doing my duty, sir."

"Please, call me if there are any more developments. Thank you." He quickly snapped his phone shut. He rubbed his forehead. Thank goodness Jeremiah had been there. If he hadn't, their plan would have failed completely. He really needed to be careful from then on out. He was lucky he had the allies he did. He scowled slightly. Who would have thought that he would be scolding himself for being _too _trusting?

He was going to have to deal with this. Perhaps this was even good - it meant that that skittish man was no longer in charge, and it might even give him a little more power in the eyes of the organization. He straightened slightly. Yes. He could deal with this.

Mental fallout over, he turned back to Shirley. "Anyway, what were you say - " he blinked. Shirley seemed to have collapsed into a dazed heap.

"Oh, dear." He rubbed his forehead. "Sayoko! There's a passed out woman on our porch again!"

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**Published 7/26/16**


	11. Chapter 11: Execute

**Chapter 11: Execute**

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait - we've had a hectic past month! Unfortunately, school is starting for us, and we probably won't have as much time to write. However, we have quite a few more chapters planned out, and our reserves aren't completely drained yet! Thank you all for your patience.**

**WARNINGS: OCs oh my (we're so sorry), Lelouch is spiritually an old man, Suzaku is James Bond minus the one liners and cool tux and everything else, Lloyd (we're so, ****_so _****sorry) (seriously don't read the omake, I'm so ashamed)**

"We have a traitor in our midst."

Zero stood at the end of the long table in the room it felt like he had invaded just yesterday. The room fell into an uneasy silence, the pre-Black Knights and Yamato Alliance (neatly split down the middle) glancing at one another suspiciously. At the other end of the table sat Yoshimura, who immediately broke into a cold sweat.

"Who is it?" Kurosaki spoke up from his spot next to Yoshimura - he was definitely the most vocal of the Yamato Alliance. Lelouch smiled dryly behind his mask.

"The traitor is none other than your self-proclaimed leader." He smirked. "Isn't that right, Yoshimura?"

Immediately, the man in question started. "M-me?" He stuttered. "You must be joking!"

"Am I?" Lelouch said dangerously. He leaned forward. "So you're saying that you didn't get cold feet and try to sell out your comrades last night?"

There was a collective gasp. What a responsive audience, Lelouch thought appreciatively. Kallen and Ohgi, take notes.

Yoshimura began laughing hysterically. "What are you talking about? Y-you have no proof!" He glanced desperately at Kurosaki, as if seeking support. "Right?"

"Don't I?" Lelouch drawled. With a flick of his wrist, he pulled out a single sheet of paper from his jacket. He slid it across the table. "See for yourself."

Yoshimura, immediately catching on, tried to grab for the sheet, but Kurosaki already had a hand on it.

"K-Kurosaki! Surely you don't believe this maniac more than me?" Yoshimura said desperately. Kurosaki furrowed his brow.

"It can't hurt looking," he said, picking it up. After a cursory glance, his eyes widened. He looking sharply at Zero, then back at the report. "Impossible…" He muttered.

"What is it?" A girl at his elbow spoke up, straining to read it over his shoulder.

"It says that a man claiming to be Yoshimura called and gave an exact description of Zero's plan," Kurosaki said slowly. He looked at Zero again, expression dark. "How can we know that this is him? It could have been any of us."

Lelouch smiled. "A fair question." With another flourish, he pulled out a tape recorder. He pressed the button. Sure enough, the tape was a long and rather panicked confession from none other than Yoshimura, who felt the need to establish who he was at least three times. The table was deathly quiet, even once the recording ended.

Yoshimura gulped. "G-guys, this isn't what it looks like! Are you guys really gonna believe this… This sideshow freak over me?!" He laughed frantically. "C-come on!" There was no response. Yoshimura wet his lips nervously.

In a split second, he was racing towards the door. Before he could make it however, Kallen had sprung up from her spot towards the end of the table and clotheslined the ex-leader. With an ungraceful wheeze, he collapsed to the floor. Lelouch had to admit, it was quite enjoyable to watch Kallen be violent when he wasn't on the receiving end of it.

Immediately, the table was in an uproar. The Yamato Alliance surged towards Yoshimura's prone body, shouting profanity.

"People!" Zero shouted in his most commanding voice. The commotion came to a shaky stop, and the freedom fighters turned to him.

"We can not kill him just yet." Lelouch started. As he sensed protests rising, he raised his hand. "Currently, we have more pressing matters to deal with. Kurosaki." The man in question looked up. "You are now the acting leader of the Yamato Alliance until an election can be held. Understood?" Kurosaki looked surprised, but nodded.

Zero gave the group a long look. "We are about to go into battle together. Men like Yoshimura - cowards like Yoshimura - can not be tolerated. Those that would betray their comrades are even worse than the enemy. If any of you have a single doubt about your cause - about your people, your country, your pride - leave now. There is no place for you here."

There was a long silence. Lelouch smiled. That's more like it.

"Kurosaki," he said. "Will you and your comrades follow me onto the field of battle?"

Kurosaki glanced back into the hard faces of his fellow freedom fighters. He turned to Zero with new resolution.

"We will."

"Then," Zero intoned. "Let the fun begin!"

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After they had locked up Yoshimura, the Yamato Alliance began preparations with renewed vigor. The knowledge of Yoshimura's cowardice had only made them more enraged to their cause. Surprisingly, his only shadow of a worry now was if the soldiers would be too excited.

As Zero stood dramatically off to the side with practiced nonchalance, Kallen deigned to approach him. He had made her one of the squad leaders, so he didn't understand what she had to complain about to him.

"Squad 6 is all set," she said formally. Then she smiled slightly. "Nice job back there. It worked perfectly."

Zero straightened. Well. She was finally giving his showmanship the respect it deserved. He opened his mouth to speak, but she continued.

"But… A tape recorder? What is it, the eighties?"

"H-hey! It's a completely functional piece of technology!"

She snorted. "Sure, grandpa. And how'd he send you the report?"

"He… Faxed it to me…"

_You don't need to laugh that hard_, he thought, somewhat put out, as Kallen practically keeled over, gasping for breath. _It's not that funny._

Luckily, at that moment, Kurosaki jogged up with Ohgi right behind him. Kurosaki was polite enough to just shoot her a confused look before turning to him. "Sir, all of our squads are ready for battle," he reported.

"Ours too," Ohgi said, already used to Kallen's joy at Lelouch's dismay.

"Good," Lelouch replied with as much dignity as he could. He shot the still-laughing Kallen a dark look before straightening again. "You all remember the plan?"

"Yes, sir," Kurosaki said.

"Then let's prepare. Cornelia will be arriving soon, and it's not polite to keep your guest waiting."

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Cornelia grinned. "It seems Zero decided to take my invitation."

Andreas Darlton, her second in command, frowned deeply. The Yamato Alliance, a clueless terrorist organization, had somehow managed to hold off his Princess's forces for two hours now. Every time they got close, they were beat back again and again. It was beyond troubling that the terrorists, with their lack of preparation, could have pulled this off. Still, Cornelia seemed completely unperturbed as she, Darlton, and Guilford watched the progress of the battle from their command center.

"Ma'am, what do you propose we do?"

"Nothing!" Cornelia said gleefully. "Zero has taken the bait - there's no doubt that he's among the terrorists."

"Ma'am, we're suffering heavy losses - " he began, but Cornelia cut him off.

"Sacrifices must be made, Darlton, as unfortunate as they are. However, this Zero is not nearly as intelligent as he thinks he is. He'll slip up before long."

"Ma'am, I don't know that - "

"You'll see. Don't worry. Have you so little faith in me? He may have beaten my idiot brother, but I am not he."

Darlton shut his mouth again. She had a point, of course. He had absolute faith in Cornelia as a commander - that was why he followed her, after all. Clovis had lost because of his own ineptitude; he had no doubt that Cornelia was much more capable than that poof.

Suddenly, another voice crackled through he radio.

"_Ma'am! We've found a break in their defenses_!"

"You see, Darlton?" She shot him a smile and checked her radar. "Where are you?"

"_I'm on the west side, ma'am, next to the old hospital_!"

"I'm on it!" Cornelia climbed into her Gloucester. "Darlton, Guilford! Get in your Knightmares and follow me!"

Sure enough, there was a gap in the Yamato Alliance's forces. It was in a particularly treacherous part of the ghetto, between two relatively tall condemned buildings - old parking garages, if she remembered right, long since emptied. There was a rough patch of rubble past them that made it difficult for multiple Knightmares to get through without some explosive work. With a team of demolition experts, they'd be able to bust a hole in no time. The terrorists must have completely forgotten to block it off! With a triumphant smirk and not a second thought, she shot into the gap, weaving between piles of rubble expertly. They would have a straight line to the middle of the ghetto. She let out a chuckle. What now, Zero?

She pulled herself to a halt in a clearing, waiting as Darlton and Guilford scanned the area. She pressed the button on her radio.

"Squads 5 and 7, to me. I'm on the west side, by the hospital. There's a gap in their defenses. We can funnel into - " she was cut short when there was a sudden blast. The ground shook - Cornelia let out a shrill cry.

"Darlton! Guilford! Report! What was that?!"

"_W-we're not sure, Ma'am_," Darlton responded, clearly also affected by the explosion. Cornelia spun her Knightmare around.

"Where are you two?!" She scanned her surroundings. Nothing seemed out of place just yet, but if the shaking continued…

Suddenly, the buildings on her right and left let out a tremendous groan. Her heart dropped into her stomach.

No… she spun around. It's not possible!

Sure enough, one of the buildings was coming down - right towards her. Heart pounding, Cornelia gunned her Knightmare, shooting away from the structure as it crashed down. She dodged frantically around wreckage, blood roaring in her ears. A wave of panic washed over her - she wouldn't be able to make it out of the shadow of the building, and while she doubted she would die, she would be completely immobile. Cornelia barely ducked her Knightmare inside an old bombed out-newspaper building as the structure came down. There was a huge crash - glass breaking, cement crumbling - as the parking garage fell right on the building she was inside. She heard a loud, ominous creak, and the ceiling above her seemed to sag, but miraculously, the structure didn't give out.

Cornelia cursed in her head. Damn! She had fallen straight into a trap… How could she have been so foolish?! Letting out a string of colorful profanities, she slammed her radio.

"Darlton! Guilford! Where are you?!"

Static. _Damn you AT&amp;T_. She was trapped with no communication in enemy territory. Desperately, she looked around. Now that the building she was in had been covered, everything was insanely dark. She turned on her night vision, but all she could see was debris and dust.

Slowly, she pushed her Knightmare towards where she had entered from. She could barely tell the different parts of the wreckage apart; however, she could see a tiny sliver of light peeking out from between two collapses metal beams. Backing away slightly, she aimed her cannon. This should at least get me some light, she thought, and shot.

With a mighty explosion, a hole was blown straight through the collapsed building on top of her. Without too much hassle, she pulled her Knightmare out into the light of day…

… And the middle of a ring of terrorist forces.

_Today really is not my day_, the part of her mind still thinking in coherent sentences said.

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Jeremiah leaned back in his Knightmare as everything fell exactly into place.

"_Squads 5 and 7, to me. I'm on the west, side, by the hospital. There's a gap in their defenses. We can funnel into - _"

A sudden explosion was heard through the radio, accompanied with a scream. He couldn't hold back a grim smile.

"_Darlton! Guilford! Report! What was that_?!"

_That was your once-and-future Emperor, back for revenge, Princess._

"_W-we're not sure, Ma'am_," came Guilford's shaky response.

"_Where are you two_?!" Before either could respond, however, there was a mighty explosion, followed by the sound of debris crashing. Suddenly, there was silence.

"_Cornelia?! Cornelia_!" Guilford screamed. He cursed loudly.

"Guilford, Darlton, report!" Jeremiah cut in.

"_Cornelia entered the mentioned sight between two old parking garages. While Guilford and I were scouting for any enemy troops, an explosion went off and the buildings fell onto her_." Darlton was clearly trying his hardest to remain professional, but his voice was murderous.

"Where are you two?" He demanded.

"_We're just south of the wreckage. Some of the debris is scattered over here. With our fire power, we'll be able to get through in about an hour._"

"An hour won't be fast enough," Jeremiah shot back. "I'm sending in the Lancelot."

"_But Cornelia said - _"

"Cornelia is currently trapped underneath a building in enemy territory! Do you so dearly hold your own pride that you would risk your Princess's life?!"

That would definitely work. After a moment of silence, Guilford spoke.

"_Send him in_."

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"_Kururugi. You know what to do_."

Suzaku let out a long-suffering sigh (he seemed to be doing that a lot lately) as Jeremiah's message came through. He turned to Lloyd.

"They're calling me in."

The mad scientist clapped gleefully. "Oh, goody! Maybe this time you won't futz it up so badly!" Flashes of a wild goose chase through the Shinjuku ghetto came to mind. Suzaku suddenly felt an even stronger urge to punch Lloyd than usual. "Well, ta-ta! Drive safe, make good choices~!"

_One of these days I'm going to strangle that man_, Suzaku thought absently as he climbed into the Lancelot.

He shot through the ghetto with practiced ease - when he was at the controls of a Knightmare, everything else seemed to melt away. After a quick glance at his radar, he pinpointed Cornelia's position. He hit the intercom button.

"Ma'am, I'm coming to you."

"_Kururugi_?!"

"I've locked onto your position." He rocketed around a corner to where Guilford and Darlton stood.

"_How do you plan on getting through the wreckage fast enough, Kururugi_?" Darlton's voice broke through the static. Suzaku set his mouth into a grim line.

"Not through," he said. "Over."

Along with rather impressive guns and a very chic design, the Lancelot was equipped with high-powered boosters. He had never used them to this extent before, but hey, he was sure it would work out just fine.

"Lloyd, is this going to work?" He asked, just to be sure.

"_What? Oh, probably not._"

"Cool," he said, and gunned it.

Somehow, miraculously, the Lancelot barely cleared the edge of the pile of wreckage. It was a good thing too, because the metal on the side was probably hot enough from the explosions to do some serious damage to his Knightmare. He came in, perhaps a bit faster than strictly necessary, right into the middle of the freedom fighters. He squealed to a stop right next to Cornelia.

"Uh, hi," he said. "I'll kill those guys now or something." No one ever said he was any good at one-liners.

Before the small group of terrorists could react, Suzaku shot towards them. With a burst of speed, he took each of their legs out. Ohgi was to be in charge of this division - he was the only one who knew about Suzaku's involvement. As far as the terrorists were concerned, they had simply had a small, small part of their forces defeated by a vastly superior Knightmare frame. The damaged Knightmares skidded into the ghetto wreckage as Ohgi ordered retreat - the pilots would eject and quickly escape. Overall they would still be able to enjoy their victory; they and achieved their main goal of survival, after all.

After it seemed he had destroyed an entire slew of enemy forces, he turned to Cornelia. "We have to retreat!"

"_What?! No_!"

"Ma'am, with all due respect, you were almost _killed_ just now! Were heavily outnumbered, and by the look of it, your Knightmare was pretty beat up in the collapse. Please, we have to pull back! We've already put a solid dent in their forces."

For a moment, Cornelia didn't respond, and Suzaku was suddenly terrified that Lelouch's plan hadn't worked. However, she let out a reluctant sigh.

"_Fine. You make a good point, Kururugi. Pull back, men! We've done enough for today_."

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Lelouch cackled maniacally. He stood before the collective Yamato Alliance and pre-Black Knights. The Britannians had just retreated, and he had called them back for his speech. They looked tired, but relatively undamaged. Ohgi's squad, which had taken the attack from Suzaku, had made it back perfectly safe, as expected. He smirked to himself. His army had now practically doubled in size.

Lelouch swept his hand to the side. "Everything has gone perfectly, thanks to you brave soldiers!" A loud cheer broke out. The Yamato Alliance looked especially exuberant - he doubted they had experienced much victory under that coward Yoshimura.

"You Japanese have shown the Britannians whose land this is - we have together done the unthinkable. We have defeated Viceroy Cornelia li Britannia at her own game!" Another cheer broke out, this time even louder. "You have all done well. This new alliance will strengthen us beyond all expectations. The Emperor won't know what hit him!"

Another roar. Kurosaki climbed out of his Knightmare, and Zero nodded at him, indicating he could speak.

"We have fought well today," Kurosaki called, "but we couldn't have done any of this without Zero!"

This roar was the loudest of all four. Zero gave a deep bow. He could practically sense Kallen rolling her eyes from inside of her Knightmare.

"My good people!" Zero called once more once the applause died down. "Now, I'm afraid, we must retreat."

"What?! But we won!" Someone cried from the crowd. There was general murmur of agreement.

"Yes, that is true. However, Cornelia will inevitably be back for vengeance. We have humiliated them once, but we shouldn't push our luck." He turned to Kurosaki. "If you are willing, I would offer the Yamato Alliance a place back at our base."

Kurosaki nodded. "You have proven yourself. I would be honored to offer our forces."

"Now, to the sewers!" Zero commanded with a sweep of his hand.

"Why do we always travel through the sewers?" A voice grumbled in the crowd.

"Shut up, Tamaki," Zero said.

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OMAKE: (I have nothing to say except please forgive us)

_Rivalz v Lloyd: First Encounter_

Lloyd gave Milly a brilliant smile as they strolled along, arm in arm. They were currently on another romantic walk in a glorious garden, watching the birds chirp and the fountain sparkle. The world seemed to fade away into a blur behind them; they existed in a world that included nothing but each other.

"Isn't today lovely, honey bunches of oats?" Milly said with a smile. Lloyd gave her a grin in return.

"No where near as lovely as you, my dear twist caramel mint frappucino with a hint of foam and two cups of cream, order now at a Starbucks near you."

Milly laughed charmingly. "Oh, crispy butter fluffnstuffs, you flatter me!"

At that moment, they heard a sudden crash. The turned simultaneously, just in time to see…

"Rivalz!" Milly gasped theatrically.

Rivalz ran up to them, panting and wheezing. It was clear he had run all the way there. Milly frowned.

"Rivalz, what on earth are you doing here?" She said. "Also, how did you find us?'

"I'm here to stop your date!" Rivalz proclaimed.

"Stop our date?" Lloyd frowned. "But why?"

"B-because…" Rivalz trailed off uncertainly. He pulled out a notecard, quickly read it over, and then tucked it back in his pocket. "Because it's not true love! Milly, you deserve to find your own husband, not have him forced on to you!"

Milly looked startled. "R-Rivalz…"

Rivalz turned beet red. "The truth is… He doesn't deserve you!" He pointed dramatically at a surprised Lloyd. "Just because he has money and is smart or whatever doesn't mean that he's good enough to marry you!" Rivalz clutched a fist to his chest, looked away theatrically. "You deserve someone… Someone who truly cares for you, Milly! Plus he's, like, really old."

"Rivalz…" Milly faltered, trying to find her words. "Rivalz, but he does care for me…"

"I don't trust him!" Rivalz shouted. "But… If you're so sure… Then I challenge him to a duel!"

Milly gasped. "Rivalz! You wouldn't!"

Rivalz clenched his fists with determination. "I would." He struck a pose. "If he's worth your time, he should be able to defeat me! I, Rivalz Cardemonde, challenge you, Lloyd Asplund, to a gentleman's duel!"

Rivalz dramatic words echoed through the garden. Milly clutched her mouth, torn. Lloyd kept his face low, shielding his expression from view. After a long pause for dramatic effect, Lloyd finally spoke.

"So, Mr. Cardemonde…" He began. "You're after Milly, are you?"

Rivalz didn't falter, still staring down Lloyd with as much ferocity as a tiger. He was a cobra, coiled to strike, a lion waiting poised in the grass -

"Okay!" Lloyd said cheerfully. "You can join I guess!"

Rivalz blinked. "... What?"

"You're okay, mustache-hair!" Lloyd said brightly, clapping Rivalz on the shoulder. "I wouldn't mind adding another if Milly likes you so much. And besides, you know what they say - it's not gay if it's a threeway!"

Rivalz took all of thirty seconds to process what Lloyd said.

Once he had, he immediately turned and ran screaming out of the garden.

Well, that was a disappointingly undramatic ending, Milly thought dryly. Lloyd turned to her, confused.

"What? Did I say something wrong?"

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**Published 9/1/16**


End file.
